WNBA star Sophie Cunningham blasts "dumb" CBA talks, fearing a looming lockout as critical negotiations stall with no deal in sight.
The clock continues to tick on the WNBA’s unresolved labor negotiations, and with each passing week, the tone around the league is growing more anxious.
The league and the Women’s National Basketball Players Association remain without a new collective bargaining agreement after an early-January benchmark passed quietly. While the 2026 regular season is still months away, the ripple effects of the stalemate are already being felt across the league’s calendar. Expansion preparations, offseason movement and free agency activity have all been delayed, leaving teams and players in a holding pattern.
Under normal circumstances, expansion drafts for the Portland Fire and Toronto Tempo would already be complete, and front offices would be preparing for free agency, which typically opens in early February. Instead, much of the offseason infrastructure has stalled as negotiations drag on.
Reporting from Front Office Sports earlier this month outlined just how wide the gap remains between the two sides. According to that report, the players’ association submitted a proposal in late December seeking a 30 percent share of gross revenue and a salary cap of $10.5 million. The league has yet to formally respond to that offer, but its most recent proposal, shared in early December, featured a salary cap of roughly $5 million and a revenue-sharing structure based on net revenue rather than gross.
Despite a general belief around the league that an agreement will eventually be reached, frustration is mounting, particularly among players who see little visible progress.
That frustration came into sharp focus this week when Phoenix Mercury guard Sophie Cunningham addressed the negotiations publicly on her Show Me Something podcast. Cunningham did not mince words when describing her outlook on the current CBA landscape.
“Our CBA is so dumb right now, that it’s heading towards a lockout,” Cunningham said.
The comment underscored a growing concern among players that time may not be on their side. When co-host West Wilson asked whether negotiations had shown any meaningful movement, Cunningham offered a blunt assessment of the communication she has received.
“No. Honestly, nothing,” she said. “We get weekly e-mails from the PA side of things, and it’s just so dumb. Dumb, dumb, dumb.”
Cunningham’s remarks may carry a degree of exaggeration born out of frustration, but they reflect a sentiment that has been quietly spreading across the league. While players widely expect salaries to rise significantly under the next agreement, the dispute over how revenue should be shared remains the central obstacle. Players have consistently pushed for a structure tied to gross revenue, while owners have maintained that net revenue better reflects the league’s financial realities.
The possibility of a lockout, once considered remote, has become part of the conversation as spring approaches with no deal in place. Even the suggestion of that outcome represents a troubling development for a league coming off some of its strongest growth in visibility, attendance and cultural relevance.
For fans, Cunningham’s comments landed as an unwelcome update. After a season defined by momentum and optimism, the idea of labor disruption threatens to overshadow the league’s progress at a critical moment.
Whether Cunningham’s warning proves prophetic or simply a snapshot of offseason frustration remains to be seen. What is clear is that patience is wearing thin, and pressure is building on both sides to find common ground before the calendar — and public sentiment — turn further against them.