There seems to be a growing divide between the goals of the WNBA's leadership and the players who make up the league, a topic that was notably highlighted during the 2025 WNBA All-Star Game when players donned shirts that read, "Pay us what you owe us," and fans chanted "Pay them!" as WNBA Commissioner Cathy Engelbert spoke.
The discord between the league and the players has been a hot topic all year, and conversations surrounding what will or won't happen during CBA negotiations have persisted, even as some players have traveled overseas to play internationally and as others have participated in media events for other leagues.
Paige Bueckers and Cameron Brink were asked about the current mood within the league during press interviews for Unrivaled on Monday, December 15. Bueckers, demonstrating leadership skills that exceed her 24 years, took the opportunity to deliver a pointed message: WNBA players have to stick together.
"I think unity is the best way to display strength," Bueckers said. "So for us all to be together, all be on the same page, ask each other questions, get to understand what we're standing for and the people before us who have paved the way, and what we want the next generation to have ... to have those conversations [is important]."
As she noted, it's more difficult to have those types of conversations during the offseason, especially because so many players have historically been scattered across the world. Leagues like Unrivaled allow players to stay closer to home, which means it's easier to facilitate when topics need to be discussed.
But it's deeper than that, Bueckers also said. "So for a lot of very strong women to be in one area and display that unity, it's really important and it's very unique in the sense that that doesn't happen often. So we want to take full advantage of that."
The latest WNBA CBA news isn't exactly promising
On Monday The Athletic reported that, among other topics, the WNBA and the WNBPA are still no closer to coming to an agreement about revenue sharing and salary caps. 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.
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.