Negotiations between the WNBA and the players association don’t appear to be going well.
“We got a proposal from the league, which was honestly a slap in the face,” Phoenix Mercury forward and team union rep Satou Sabally said on Tuesday, via AZ Central’s Jeff Metcalfe.
While specifics of that proposal aren’t known, Sabally’s comments aren’t a great sign whatsoever — especially with the threat of a lockout coming in the very near future.
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The league and the WNBPA have been in negotiations regarding a new collective bargaining agreement, which is set to expire in 2027. WNBA players announced last year that they are going to opt out of that deal early, but they are playing this season under its current rules. That could lead to a lockout in 2026.
There are several key issues that the two sides are working on, most notably the low salaries and benefits players receive. Players have frequently had to supplement their salaries with sponsorship deals and playing in other leagues internationally during the WNBA offseason each year.
The WNBA is as popular as ever, which is only adding to the CBA negotiation. The last game of the WNBA Finals last season, for example, saw a 142% increase in ratings over the same game the year prior — and it didn’t even feature Indiana Fever star Caitlin Clark, who has quickly become one of the biggest faces in the league in just her second season. The WNBA reached $2.2 billion in television deals last summer, too.
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Sabally’s comments Tuesday came amid the latest announcement of expansion in the league. The WNBA revealed on Monday that there will be three new teams — in Detroit, Cleveland and Philadelphia — by the end of the decade. That would bring the total number of teams up to 18.
While Sabally said she was excited about the expansion news, she made it clear that she doesn’t think that’s where the biggest focus should be. Instead, she joined calls for expanded rosters and resources for the people who are in the league right now.
“How amazing is that that the league can grow, but how cool would it also be to have a little bit of expansion on rosters?” she said. “Let’s focus on the teams that have everything set up right now, and maybe focus on the teams also that find excuses continuously to lack investment into their players before we focus on adding more to the grain of people that can’t really be sustained.”
