Candace Parker urges WNBA leaders to secure progress during stalled CBA talks, warning momentum is at stake for the league's future.
The WNBA’s labor standoff has reached a defining moment, and one of the sport’s most influential voices is urging both sides not to let hard-earned progress slip away.
With the start of the regular season less than four months away and no Collective Bargaining Agreement in place, the league remains in a holding pattern that threatens to disrupt everything from free agency to the May 8 opening night. That uncertainty has only intensified scrutiny around negotiations that many believe will shape the future of women’s professional basketball far beyond the United States.
Recently elected Hall of Famer Candace Parker addressed the situation in an interview with talkSport, framing the talks as bigger than a single contract cycle. Parker emphasized that the WNBA has long served as a global reference point for women’s basketball, making the outcome of the current negotiations especially consequential.
Parker described the moment as one in which leadership and restraint matter just as much as leverage.
“I think it’s super important for the WNBA to kind of set the bar,” Parker said.
She pointed to the league’s history of being first in areas ranging from visibility to player advocacy, adding that those gains now come with responsibility. For Parker, fair compensation remains central to the discussion, but so does maintaining continuity.
As of Jan. 26, the two sides remain without an agreement, even though the WNBA Draft is just two months away. Free agency, which was scheduled to open Jan. 18, has yet to begin, leaving teams facing the prospect of assembling rosters under severe time constraints once movement is finally permitted. Despite that uncertainty, the league has already released its full schedule, a move that has drawn attention given the unresolved labor issues.
The Women’s National Basketball Players Association is pushing for a deal that meaningfully increases salaries and revenue sharing. The average WNBA salary currently sits at roughly $120,000, while the league’s supermax contracts top out at $249,244. Those figures have become harder to reconcile with the league’s surge in popularity, particularly over the past two seasons.
Much of that growth has followed a spike in mainstream interest, driven by a new generation of stars and expanded media exposure. The increased visibility has elevated expectations around how players should be compensated, and it has raised the stakes of negotiations that already carry the risk of a lockout or strike.
Parker acknowledged that imbalance directly, arguing that the existing economic structure is no longer sustainable.
“When you look at a model where coaches are making significantly more than the top players, that’s not something that can last long term,” Parker said.
Still, Parker stressed that compromise remains essential, even with players holding considerable leverage. In her view, preserving the season itself is part of protecting the sport’s trajectory.
“The power is always within the players, but obviously we want there to be a season,” Parker said. “I think it’s super important for both sides to work together.”
That sense of urgency reflects broader concern among fans and stakeholders who fear that a prolonged dispute could undo years of momentum. The WNBA has spent decades building credibility, audience trust and global influence, and many see the current CBA talks as a test of whether the league can convert that growth into long-term stability.
As Parker suggested, the challenge now is balancing progress with preservation. With the calendar moving closer to the draft and opening night, the cost of delay continues to rise, and the outcome will likely reverberate across women’s basketball for years to come.