Ramona Shelburne says WNBA strike complicated by limited player contracts appeared first on ClutchPoints. Add ClutchPoints as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
As a WNBA lockout looms, things could very well get more complicated. In an interview on the Rich Eisen Show, ESPN’s Ramona Shelburne outlined how the contract situation of the WNBA players this offseason could make a WNBA lockout even more devastating.
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“Like 80% of the league are free agents,” Shelburne told Eisen. “Everyone signed one-year deals. And everyone times their contracts to coincide with this new CBA. So literally there’s not even really any teams. There’s only like 20% of the league that’s under contract for next year. So the pressure point is at some point there has to be a reasonable time for free agency. At some point, the two expansion teams have to have an expansion draft. That’s really the pressure point. So I would say, we’re in the middle of February now. It’s got to happen sometime in March.”
The WNBA Players Association and the WNBA have been negotiating a new collective bargaining agreement since the 2020 agreement expired in October. The negotiation, led by WNBPA president Nneka Ogwumike and WNBA commissioner Cathy Engelbert, has been ongoing with both sides submitting proposals for agreement.
Along with quality-of-life improvements—such as working conditions and housing for players—an often-discussed issue at the core of the split between the WNBA and the WNBPA is revenue sharing. The Players Association wants a share of the WNBA’s gross revenue, up to 25%, rising to 27.5% over the lifespan of the new CBA. The players’ union also wants a salary cap of around $9.5 million.
The demands are contrary to what the WNBA is proposing, as they are currently offering the Players Association 70% of league and team net revenue and a lower salary cap than the Players Association wants, which is $5.65 million that rises with the money that the league makes.
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With the expansion draft still to be held, as well as free agency and the WNBA draft set for this spring, there’s an immediate sense of urgency to resolve matters before the new season kicks off on May 8.
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