NEW YORK (AP) — The WNBA and its players union held a virtual meeting Monday to try and further negotiations for a new collective bargaining agreement, a person familiar with the discussions told The Associated Press.
The person spoke to the AP on condition of anonymity because of the sensitive nature of the negotiations.
It was the first meeting between the two sides that involved players and the league since they met at the WNBA offices on Feb. 2.
Because of the winter storm that hit New York, it was decided to hold the meeting virtually.
Over 50 players were on the call, which lasted nearly two hours, the person said.
The two sides are still far apart on revenue sharing and housing.
The league in its latest proposal that was sent Friday offered 70% net revenue for the players, and said it would do away with a trigger threshold that currently needs to be met to attain revenue sharing.
That came after the union had asked for an average of 27.5% of the gross revenue over the course of the CBA, beginning with 25% in the first year of the new deal. In its previous offer, the union had asked for an average of more than 30%.
The league at that point said in a statement the revenue sharing percentage remained unrealistic and would cause “hundreds of millions of dollars of losses for our teams."
Also on Monday, the union confirmed to the AP that the WNBA will give its players $8 million from revenue sharing from last season as the league generated enough to trigger revenue sharing for the first time in league history. ESPN was the first to report it.
The players will decide how much each player will receive from that distribution. The union has 60 days from Feb. 9, when it was officially notified of the revenue sharing money, to come up with how it will disperse it.
That money will be distributed by the teams, which will then be reimbursed by the league. Under the 2020 CBA that has since expired, players received 50% of shared revenue — defined in the CBA as the amount of revenue that's above a predetermined threshold amount minus 30% for expenses.
Neither the league or the union would say what that threshold is.
In its latest offer, the league said teams would continue to pay for housing for all players this season, a different person familiar with the negotiations told the AP on Saturday. The person also spoke on condition of anonymity because of the sensitive nature of the negotiations.
After that, franchises would pay for housing for players on minimum salary contracts, rookies in their first season and the two developmental players teams would be allowed to have.
The union had asked for teams to continue paying for housing for players in the first few years of the new agreement, but in the last two years of the CBA the franchises would no longer have to pay for housing for players that are making near the maximum salary.
If a new CBA isn’t agreed upon soon, it could delay the start of the 2026 season. It’s already delayed the expansion draft for Toronto and Portland and the start of a free agency frenzy.
“We still need to complete two drafts and free agency before the start of training camp and are running out of time,” the league said in a statement earlier this week. “We believe the WNBA’s proposal would result in a huge win for current players and generations to come.”
The previous CBA was announced in the middle of January 2020, a month after it had been agreed to. It could easily take two months from when a new CBA is reached to get to the start of free agency, which was supposed to begin last month. With a massive salary raise expected in a new CBA, 80% of players in the league are free agents this offseason, which makes this the biggest opportunity for player movement in the history of the WNBA.
A delay would hurt both sides. The season is supposed to start May 8 and every game missed is lost revenue, sponsorships, television money and fan support.
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AP WNBA: https://apnews.com/hub/wnba-basketball
