Paige Buckers Harshly Calls Out ‘Disrespectful’ WNBA Amid CBA Negioations originally appeared on Athlon Sports.
The WNBA, much like the NBA, is quickly being built on the backs of superstars. Angel Reese, A’ja Wilson, Caitlin Clark, and Paige Bueckers are ushering the WNBA into its most successful era, and the players are looking to capitalize on it.
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As the league prepared for the All-Star Game, a sizeable group of players met with the league office, hoping to reach a new collective bargaining agreement that sees players receive a bigger chunk of the pie.
Bueckers, one of the most popular players in the league, was at the forefront of the negotiations and did not hold back her criticisms of the league.
“I think it was great for us to show as a collective, like as players, how important that meeting was to us,” revealed Bueckers. “It was like over 40 people in that room, and that was historic for CBA negotiations, but there definitely wasn’t a point where we agreed.”
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If an agreement is not met before the start of next season, the WNBA is in danger of a lockout, which could tarnish the success they have built in recent seasons.
“We don’t wanna sound ungrateful for all the stuff that the WNBA provides, but we think as much as we sacrifice our bodies, our minds, our time, our effort,” explained Bueckers. “We just feel like we play a huge part in this as well, and we feel like we should be rewarded for that.”
Talks stagnated around revenue sharing, salary structure, and players prioritizing the WNBA over other leagues like Unrivaled and international leagues, although gains were made regarding retirement benefits and family planning.
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Players can make more money playing in foreign leagues or rival leagues domestically, which hurts the bottom line of the WNBA, but until the league pays players a fair wage, the athletes can’t be expected to commit to just the one Association.
“We’re going to keep talking to the media and emphasizing the fact that what they proposed was not enough,” Bueckers said. “And it was kind of disrespectful in a sense.”
With youngsters like Clark, Bueckers, and Reese taking the league by storm, the WNBA is making more money than ever, but is reluctant to pass the profits on to the players. With marquee college players like JuJu Watkins, Hannah Hidalgo, and Madison Booker gearing up for pro careers of their own, the WNBA will continue to grow.
This story was originally reported by Athlon Sports on Jul 20, 2025, where it first appeared.
