As much as everyone involved wants the WNBA Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA) negotiations to get ironed out, it sounds like things between the league and the players might be as estranged as they've ever been.
According to a report from The Athletic published December 15, the league and athletes remain locked in a serious disagreement when it comes to what percentage of revenue sharing is justified. Players have asked for more than double the share of revenue the league has so far offered.
The outlet also noted the WNBPA previously proposed a deal that would have given the players approximately 30% of league and team revenue. The league countered with an offer that would give the players less than 15% of the total revenue.
Inside the WNBA union's latest proposal
The Athletic also explains that the union's newest proposal would determine the league's salary cap "by taking the players’ share of the previous season’s total revenue, subtracting the cost of various player benefits, and dividing that number by the number of teams." Those benefits include housing, health insurance, and transportation. If signed, players would get 29% of the previous season's total revenue, and each year that percentage would increase by one point.
It's also understood that the WNBA has more recently rejected a player proposal that would have given the athletes 33% of total revenue each year of the new CBA.
A lot hangs in the balance
The ongoing negotiations are already having an impact on how the league operates and what fans can expect in 2026. The Toronto Tempo and Portland Fire have yet to hold Expansion Drafts, which will be the first step for both teams when building out their initial rosters, and free agency is set to begin in January.
On top of that, the growing distance between the league and the players is beginning to more regularly be a major part of conversations that athletes are having when playing in other leagues. USA Basketball's training camp last weekend was dominated by questions and conversations about the CBA, and the same can be said of Unrivaled's Media Day on December 15.
Signing a new CBA is a crucial step toward bringing the league back together and ushering in a strong beginning to the 2026 WNBA season — the longer both parties continue to go back and forth, the longer it will be before fans have an idea of what to expect next season. The players are making the demands they feel they deserve to, and the league should, hopefully, respond to those appropriately and adequately.