A stark revenue split separates the WNBA and its players' union, threatening negotiations as proposed percentages reveal a significant gulf in player compensation.
The widening gap between the WNBA and its players’ union has crystallized around a fundamental question: how much of the league’s growing revenue should go directly to players.
Negotiations between the WNBA and the Women’s National Basketball Players Association remain ongoing, but recent proposals have underscored how far apart the two sides remain as the current collective bargaining agreement nears its Jan. 9 expiration. While both parties agree on tying salaries to league revenue, they are pursuing sharply different models for how that money would be calculated and distributed.
According to The Athletic, under the union’s most recent proposal, players would receive roughly 30% of total league and team revenue. The league’s latest framework would allocate players less than 15% of total revenue, with that percentage declining over the life of the agreement based on league revenue projections.
The WNBPA’s proposal outlines a system in which the salary cap would be derived from the previous season’s total revenue. From that pool, the cost of player benefits — including housing, medical insurance and local transportation — would be subtracted before the remaining amount is divided evenly among teams. The union has also proposed mandatory league and team audits to ensure transparency and accurate accounting.
The players’ plan includes a graduated structure. In the first year of the proposed agreement, players would receive 29% of the prior season’s gross revenue, with a one-time adjustment accounting for the league’s new 11-year, $2.2 billion media rights deal that begins next season. That share would increase by 1% annually, reaching 34% by the final year of the deal.
The league’s proposal takes a different approach. Rather than basing salaries on total revenue, the WNBA has proposed identifying a portion of league revenue as “shareable,” with 50% of that subset distributed to players. That shareable revenue is not expected to include the league’s full revenue stream.
Under the league’s model, average salaries would be projected to reach at least $500,000, with total compensation for maximum-salary players projected at approximately $1.2 million in the first year of the agreement. Those figures would be expected to rise over time.
The union’s proposal does not specify maximum salary figures, though it is expected to result in top players earning more than $1 million per season.
The WNBA recently rejected a prior union proposal that would have set players’ revenue share at 33% annually. That rejection led to the revised proposal featuring a year-by-year increase.
The divide has drawn public frustration from union leadership and star players.
Kelsey Plum, the WNBPA’s first vice president, addressed the state of negotiations after the most recent deadline extension.
“It’s a little bit disheartening, just frustration in the negotiation and how far away we are,” Plum said.
Caitlin Clark emphasized the broader stakes involved in the talks.
“This is the biggest moment the WNBA has ever seen, and it’s not something that can be messed up, and we’re going to fight for everything that we deserve,” Clark said.