WNBPA executive director Terri Jackson issued a statement on behalf of the WNBA's players Monday that offered a sharp indictment of the league's most recent CBA proposal. Though revenue sharing is not the only issue being discussed by both parties, it is one of the most serious. The league has offered players revenue sharing of approximately 15%, while players have pushed for a number closer to 30%.
Jackson noted that the members of the WNBPA "know the difference between doing business and creating click-bait" and are focused on the system as a whole. The players also "are not confused by the numbers" that have been shared, and are working toward receiving a "meaningful share of the revenue they are creating."
"I cannot comment on the specifics of any proposal but I can speak hypothetically. The players would not have opted out of the 2020 CBA with a fixed salary system giving them less than 10% of the revenue that their labor drives only to agree to a salary system that is arguably tied to revenue but now gives them less than 15%," Jackson added. "The business has grown considerably and the league and the teams project incredible sustainable growth into the (foreseeable) future."
The players rejected the WNBA's latest proposal
There have not been substantial updates about where the CBA negotiations are at this month, and the latest extension between the players and the league is set to expire January 9.
In December ESPN reported that expansion teams and the associated fees the league brings in (the latest teams to join the WNBA have each paid a $250 million fee to join) are also a crucial part of the players' arguments to the league. The WNBA announced three new expansion teams in Detroit, Cleveland, and Philadelphia in 2025. Those teams will join the Golden State Valkyries, who played their first season in the WNBA in 2025, and the Toronto Tempo and Portland Fire, who will both make their own WNBA debuts once a new CBA is agreed upon.
A source with knowledge of the negotiations told High Post Hoops the latest proposal includes an uncapped revenue-sharing model that would raise maximum salaries above $1.3 million (up from $294,000) and that the maximum salary would grow to over $2 million over the life of the agreement; the proposal would also increase average salaries to above $530,000 (up from $120,000) and the average would grow to over $770,000 over the life of the agreement; and minimum salaries would increase to $230,000 from the current $67,000.
The proposed maximum salary would also includes a base of $1 million that would rise to the aforementioned over $1.3 million in year one alone due to the revenue sharing component (including league and team revenues) and grow over the duration of the deal.
Unrivaled may have a big impact on the CBA negotiations
As noted by Yahoo Sports at the end of December, the first season of Unrivaled was a bit of a breeding ground for player-to-player free agency negotiations and schemes.
The second season could end becoming a hotbed of CBA discussion. Caroline Fenton and Cassandra Negley told listeners the players, who all vote about whether the WNBPA opts to take further action or authorize a strike ahead of the 2026 season, will be around one another and those conversations will just happen. Unrivaled has been heralded for giving professional women's basketball players opportunities that the WNBA has not consistently provided, something the league is likely very well aware of.