One day after the league-imposed March 10 for a new WNBA collective bargaining agreement (CBA) passed, the WNBA and WNBPA met again at a Midtown Manhattan hotel, engaging in another bargaining session which began on Wednesday at 2 p.m. ET and extended into Thursday as all parties dispersed around 1:30 a.m. ET.
Nneka Ogwumike, the WNBPA president who again was among the four executive committee members present for the meeting along with vice presidents Breanna Stewart and Alysha Clark and treasurer Brianna Turner, indicated the union never felt pressed by the league’s deadline, telling the reporter quartet of ESPN’s Alexa Philippou, Front Office Sports’ Annie Costabile, the AP’s Doug Feinberg and The IX Sports’ Jackie Powell:
We’ve read a lot of things about timelines. There’s been timelines that have been thrown out, but for us we’re trying to get a good deal done and we want to play this season. So, to me that’s the time that we’re on.
In additional comments, Ogwumike similarly communicated a firm-but-hopeful perspective, hinting that the players still need additional concessions from the league yet are pleased with the direction of the negotiations. She reflected:
At the end of the day, we want a season. We want to play. We’ve heard that from the other side as well. We need to see a more robust demonstration of that as we continue on in these negotiations.
Ogwumike also shared:
Being able to be in the room, being able to exchange proposals, we’re feeling movement.
We’re sticking to the process. That’s something that we’ve always been true to from the very beginning, so making sure that we stick to that process and the strength in our unity and obviously remaining resolute in what we’re representing ourselves for in these negotiations is kind of where we’re at now.
Although details about current proposals remain scarce, the league reportedly has increased its proposed 2026 salary cap from $5.75 million to $6.2 million, with that number slated to continue to increase over the term of the agreement. The league is also projecting an average player salary of $570,000 that will grow to $850,000 by the sixth year of the deal.
However, with a supermax salary that can exceed $1.3 million in the first year of the new CBA, and with it believed that teams will be able to sign multiple players to maximum contracts, it is likely that most players considered “average” would make less that the forecasted average salary. It’s unclear if or how the WNBPA is pushing to resolve this disparity.
Based on the latest reporting, the league remains committed to a revenue sharing model that would see players receive an estimated 15 percent of gross revenue, with players still asking for 26 percent.
Although not divulging details about the players’ priorities or benchmarks, Ogwumike asserted:
With each hour and each proposal that goes across the table, it solidifies more and more amongst ourselves, amongst communication with other players, what it is that we’re fighting for.
Commissioner Cathy Engelbert offered a brief statement on the WNBA’s stance and state of negotiations, telling reporters:
Our proposal on the table is a really historic and transformational deal for these players.
We’re proud of the deal we have on the table. I think it’s huge gains for the players, while balancing that with the health of the league. So we’ll just continue to work really hard, and we’ve got to get a deal done.
Connecticut Sun team president Jennifer Rizzotti, who also is a member of the league’s labor relations committee and was present for the second day of bargaining, further boosted the league’s offering to players, saying:
As a former player, I don’t know that I ever thought I would see the day that such a transformational deal would be offered and on the table for these players, and I’m proud of that.
Eight proposals reportedly have been exchanged between the two sides. Day 3 of negotiations is expected to begin at an earlier hour on Thursday.
