WNBA players want to earn more money. As CBA talks continue, the players wore shirts urging the league to pay the players what they deserve ahead of Saturday's WNBA All-Star Game. It is worth noting that the players aren't asking for NBA money. Rather, they simply want a higher share of the revenue percentage as the league continues to grow. Dave Portnoy, who is no stranger to speaking his mind, shared a post on X (formerly Twitter) as players push for higher salaries.
"I see lots of morons trying to act like WNBA players don’t deserve more money," Portnoy wrote on X. "They are throwing around this 'lost 50 million' number that nobody even knows where it comes from. The finances of the league are a mess, tied in with NBA and purposely murkey. The owners don’t want to say how the league is doing cause then you gotta pay more going into bargaining agreement. The league is exploding. Franchise values are exploding. Ticket sales, merch, tv rights all exploding. The players have an opt out in their CBA. Of course they took it. It’s all about leverage in re-negotiations and for the 1st time in history of league players have power. The players make virtually nothing while the entire league explodes. Of course they deserve more money. Just the values of the team pay for it without all the other stuff. If somebody told me I could buy a Boston team for 250 million I would do it without blinking. That’s all you got to know about the WNBA finances."
Athletes in other professional sports can earn around 50 percent of the league's revenue. Some reports have suggested that WNBA players only earn around nine percent of the league's current revenue, however. The WNBA has failed to turn a profit for the most part, but Portnoy called out the "morons" who use that as an argument in this specific circumstance. The players are earning more power as the league continues to grow, and they believe they should earn a higher percentage of the league revenue.
Even earning around 30-40 percent of the revenue would be a massive jump. The league salary cap would significantly increase, leading to higher salaries for players. The hope, of course, is that the league avoids a lockout. With the continued growth of the WNBA, the last thing it needs is for the 2026 season to be delayed.
With that said, the players are not going to back down.