The WNBA players union submitted a new counterproposal to the league on Tuesday afternoon, marking a significant step in negotiations between the two sides as the start of the new season inches closer.
According to ESPN’s Alexa Philippou, the WNBPA is asking for an average of 27.5% of gross revenue over the course of the agreement, including 25% in the first year. The union is also asking for less than a $9.5 million salary cap.
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By comparison, the last proposal that the WNBPA sent the league late last year asked for an average of 31% of gross revenue, starting at 28%, and about a $10.5 million salary cap.
The union also proposed that teams continue provide housing for players in the first several years of the new agreement, though teams wouldn’t be obligated to do so in the later years so long as players are making close to the max salary on multi-year deals and are receiving full salary protection. Housing for players has been a requirement since 1999, either through a one-bedroom apartment or a stipend.
The WNBA, however, wasn’t having it. The league issued a statement on Tuesday night slamming the proposal, which it called “unrealistic.”
“The players association’s latest proposal remains unrealistic and would cause hundreds of millions of dollars of losses for our teams,” the WNBA said to ESPN. “We still need to complete two drafts and free agency before the start of training camp and are running out of time.
“We believe the WNBA’s proposal would result in a huge win for current players and generations to come.”
Players decided to opt out of the current collective bargaining agreement in October 2024, and the two sides have been engaged in pretty tense negotiations ever since. They have agreed to two extensions already, and then reached a moratorium agreement that allowed league business to generally continue in the meantime.
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The main issue at hand is the salary structure of the WNBA. Players want a revenue-sharing structure that links salaries to the business, and a salary cap driven by revenue. The previous proposal from the WNBA included an uncapped revenue-sharing model and a max salary of around $1.3 million. By comparison, the supermax contract in 2025 was less than $250,000.
Things have gotten heated, too. The union has previously claimed that the league isn’t taking negotiations seriously, and there was reportedly disappointment throughout the league that the WNBA did not respond to the players’ last proposal in December for about six weeks. The WNBA and members of the union met in person earlier this month in New York, roughly a month after the last deadline.
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According to ESPN, the WNBA believed the union’s December proposal would have resulted in $700 million in losses over the course of the CBA, which would put the league’s financial health at risk. Based on the league’s response to the new proposal, it still holds that belief.
The new season is set to begin May 8, the WNBA Draft is supposed to take place on April 13, and there is a two-team expansion draft that needs to happen with the addition of the Portland Fire and Toronto Tempo. Those can’t get done, and the season can’t start, until a new deal is reached.
