CBA talks between the WNBA and its players are still ongoing, but reportedly the two sides are as close as the East Coast and the West. The players opted out of the current collective bargaining pact in October, and it is set to expire on Oct. 31.
After an in-person meeting with an estimated 40 players in attendance with league officials at the recent All-Star Game in Indianapolis, the rank and file boldly expressed its displeasure about the negotiations by wearing “Pay Us What You Owe Us” pregame shooting shirts. The action drew both praise and brickbats afterwards.
“As a collective, we don’t really care,” declared Chicago Sky veteran guard Rachel Banham.
“I think we have a huge, huge responsibility to make a transformational CBA, not only for our generation now but the next generation that will come into this league,” replied New York guard Natasha Cloud to a reporter’s question during an All-Star media session, including the MSR, in Indy last month.
Are the W players asking too much? Their reported demands include better pensions, better revenue sharing, and a higher salary cap among other issues.
A recent Sportico report showed the WNBA has seen record growth in the last two years. The average W team is now worth $269 million, “a 180% increase, which is more than double the previous biggest year-over-year gain for a major sports league,” wrote Kurt Badenhausen on June 24, which was published almost a month before the players’ meeting with the league.
“We all come to push for everything that we earned,” added Cloud. “Sometimes I think our intelligence is insulted in a lot of ways. We are more than just basketball players.”
Badenhausen’s piece also pointed out, “Next year kicks off the league’s new media deals, which are expected to generate $260 million in annual revenue.” He listed the Minnesota Lynx seventh ($240 million) among the 13 WNBA clubs’ valuations.
Overall, among the six North American sports leagues, the WNBA is at the top, 12 times 2024 revenue, followed by NBA (11.9), MLS (9.4), NFL (9.3), NHL (7.7) and MLB (6.6).
“We understand exactly where this league is heading,” said Cloud. “We understand economics and business models.”
When asked during her media appearance before the WASG, Commissioner Cathy Engelbert told reporters, including the MSR, “We had candid dialogue. Communication is important. We’ve been through these negotiations many times.
“I want a lot of the same things the players want,” stressed the Commish. “I’m still optimistic that we’ll get something done that will be transformational. Obviously, there’s a lot of hard work to be done on both sides to get it done.
“Would we like to get it done [before the start of next season]?” asked Engelbert. “Yes. We’ve got some room to continue negotiations.”
“There has to be a common ground, but what’s been presented is a slap in the face,” complained Cloud.
As Banham pointed out, she and the players can’t allow social media uproar chock full of misinformation to detour them from their ultimate goal — a new CBA. And both sides don’t want a work stoppage, either.
“We know we deserve what the league should give up,” she concluded.
Charles Hallman welcomes reader comments to challman@spokesman-recorder.com.