The WNBA is more popular than ever, setting attendance and viewership records all across the board. Fans are supporting women’s basketball—and women’s sports in general—like never before. And yet, there are still some people who view the WNBA as a “lesser” version of the NBA and don’t give its players the credit they deserve.
Candace Parker believes that higher salaries could change the way WNBA players are viewed by some people.
“People respect people with zeros at the end of their checks,” Parker said when she appeared on All The Smoke. “Let’s just be honest. There’s a respect element of things when you walk into a room if you have zeros behind your check. And so I feel like in order for the WNBA to be reputable and to be respected, you have to have zeros behind your check. And with that being said, a number of zeros behind your checks. That has crossed the WNBA off the list for a number of years. That’s been the running joke in comments and things like that.”
Parker played in the WNBA between 2008 and 2023—mostly prior to the massive boom the league experienced in recent years. She knows what it’s like to be undervalued and discredited despite being one of the brightest talents in the sport.
Higher salaries are a key issue in the CBA negotiations
The current CBA was set to expire on October 31. The league and the WNBPA agreed to a 30-day extension. That deadline arrived quickly, but no new deal was agreed upon, so the two sides agreed to another extension to continue negotiations through January.
The WNBA reportedly made the players’ association an offer that would raise the average salary to $500,000 and the maximum salary to $1 million. However, the two sides aren’t quite aligned on other issues. For one, players want more than what The Athletic reported to be less than 15% of league revenue. On top of that, the WNBA’s proposal included a new schedule that would conflict with overseas seasons and the NCAA tournament as well as a mandatory draft combine and halved salaries for players who don’t attend. The WNBA also reportedly proposed to cut team housing, which would be detrimental to players on non-guaranteed or temporary contracts.
WNBPA President Nneka Ogwumike also noted a while ago that players wanted streamlined standards for practice facilities and better family planning and retirement benefits. Not much has been reported about those issues.
Increasing players’ salaries seems like the least contentious issue in the CBA negotiations. While the league and the players’ association differ when it comes to revenue shares, both sides obviously agree that the players deserve higher salaries. After all, the players and their talent are what drives the league’s success.