Chicago Sky star Angel Reese, the runner-up in 2024 Rookie of the Year voting, said she is hearing from fellow players that a player strike is on the table after this coming season.
The WNBPA has already opted out of its current collective bargaining agreement, meaning the deal will expire this fall rather than in 2027. With several sticking points between players and the league office, a prolonged labor dispute is looming. Reese said the players are ready to take action.
More from Sportico.com
“I need to be in the [players’ union] meetings because I’m hearing that if [the league] don’t give us what we want, we’re sitting out,” Reese told recent Dallas Wings addition Dijonai Carrington on her Unapologetically Angel podcast released Friday night.
“That’s a possibility, for real,” Carrington responded.
Carrington was the WNBPA union rep for the Connecticut Sun last season before being traded to Dallas in February. Diamond DeShields served as the Sky’s rep in 2024, while Reese doesn’t have a formal role in the organization. Her teammate Elizabeth Williams and Brianna Turner, now with Indiana Fever, are the WNBPA’s secretary and treasurer, respectively.
The WNBA and the WNBPA didn’t immediately respond to requests for comment sent Friday night.
Among the “transformational change” requests players may make in CBA talks are a larger share of league revenue and the elimination of a hard salary cap, WNBPA executive director Terri Carmichael Jackson said in October.
Reese was part of a rookie class that helped change the dynamics of the WNBA last year as the league turned a corner as a business. A $2.2 billion media deal with Disney, NBC and Amazon will inject more money into the W awhile expansion teams in San Francisco, Portland and Toronto have been confirmed.
During her conversation with Carrington, Reese noted how the 2025 WNBA Draft class will probably make significantly less money than the one that follows due to the next CBA changing the salary structure. It is even possible for rookies under the next CBA to out-earn veterans.
The potential for much higher salaries after 2025 has led several stars, including Brittney Griner and Satou Sabally, to sign one-year contracts so they can hit the market again next offseason.
Best of Sportico.com
Sign up for Sportico’s Newsletter. For the latest news, follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.
