Star guard Paige Bueckers voices player frustration as WNBA CBA talks stall, risking season disruptions despite a looming deadline.
With the clock ticking toward a March 10 CBA deadline that could determine whether the WNBA season starts on time, Paige Bueckers chose not to sugarcoat where things stand.
Speaking ahead of the Unrivaled semifinals in New York, the Dallas Wings guard described the current state of collective bargaining talks in blunt terms.
“At this point, it’s not really a negotiation anymore,” Bueckers said per Dallas Hoops Journal. “Like, both sides aren’t moving. So I feel like we need to continue to have these conversations, continue to actually have change implemented for us to move on our stance.”
Her remarks came hours after the league submitted a new proposal Sunday night, according to a person familiar with the discussions who spoke to The Associated Press. While offers continue to move back and forth, the central divide remains unresolved.
Bueckers was equally clear about one thing: players want to play.
“We as players, we don’t want to strike. We want to have a season,” she said. “I love playing basketball. That’s all I want to do. But again, there are things that need to be handled, and we want to do it as professionals.”
The league’s latest proposal includes a Year 1 salary cap of $5.75 million, up from $1.5 million last season. Maximum salaries would increase from $249,000 to roughly $1.3 million, and average salaries are projected to rise from $120,000 to about $540,000.
The sticking point continues to be revenue sharing. The league has offered players more than 70% of net revenue, while the union has asked for an average of 26% of gross revenue over the life of the deal — a gap both sides have yet to bridge.
There are also structural changes in the proposal that could affect players like Bueckers directly. The league is offering a pathway for rookie-scale players who earn All-WNBA honors to become max-eligible in their fourth season rather than their fifth.
After averaging 19.2 points, 3.9 rebounds, and 5.4 assists in 36 games and earning All-WNBA recognition as a rookie, Bueckers would qualify for that accelerated timeline in 2028 under the new framework. Players who sign those early max extensions would not be eligible to be cored afterward, giving them greater freedom in free agency.
Still, incremental gains have not erased the broader frustration.
More than 80% of WNBA players are set to become free agents, and the entire offseason calendar — from the expansion draft for Portland and Toronto to training camps opening April 19 and Opening Night on May 8 — depends on a deal being reached.
For Bueckers, the preference is straightforward. She would rather focus on her second season in Dallas than continue discussing labor negotiations. But until both sides move meaningfully, as she put it, the conversation is not going away.