The WNBA season is scheduled to start in a couple of months, but the league currently needs to figure out a new collective bargaining agreement. And that has been an issue to date.
Sophie Cunningham, who plays for the Indiana Fever, is warning her fellow WNBA players: this could get complicated.
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“There’s so much to get into,” Cunningham said on the latest episode of her Show Me Something podcast with West Wilson. “I think a lot of people who are on the outside are like, ‘Just sign it. Your salary increase is four or five times higher.’ But that’s not it at all.”
WNBA players come into the league making around $70,000. The league is proposing a new structure, in which max salries would jump from roughly $249,000 to more than $1.3 million, while average salaries would increase from about $120,000 to $540,000.
But WNBA players are continuing to push for a more even revenue share split. And, to date, that has not been something that the WNBA is willing to budge on.
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“They came back and zero — nothing happened with the revenue share,” Cunningham said. “And that is the whole thing that we’re fighting for.”
Aug 7, 2025; Phoenix, Arizona, USA; Indiana Fever guard Sophie Cunningham (8) against the Phoenix Mercury during an WNBA game at PHX Arena. Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images© Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images.
(© Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images.)
Cunningham is warning everyone: “It’s going to be legit a (expletive) show.”
For now, though, Cunningham is making it clear that the players are unified, despite contrary reports elsewhere.
“I’m telling you, we are as unified as it gets right now,” she said.
“And if we don’t have a season, that says a lot more about the WNBA league than us because we’re ready. We are all training. We are all playing. We are ready to go. But we are not going to play for less than what we deserve.”
This story was originally published by The Spun on Mar 5, 2026, where it first appeared in the WNBA section. Add The Spun as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
