The WNBA has put a new CBA offer on the table, a source told the Associated Press late Tuesday, with the league proposing to raise the maximum player salary to more than $1.1 million while also implementing a new revenue-sharing plan.
The league is targeting a minimum salary exceeding $220,000, boosting the average salary to over $460,000 in the first year of the agreement.
The CBA offer would apply to more than 180 WNBA players upon initial ratification, with paydays continuing to scale upward over the life of the contract.
The WNBA and the Players Association recently agreed to extend talks from the existing CBA's original October 31st expiration to November 30th, a similar move to the previous CBA negotiations in 2019, which finally settled in early 2020.
In accordance with that prior deal, this past season's minimum salary ranged from $66,079 to $78,831 depending on terms while the maximum salary was $214,466 — meaning players averaged $102,249 league-wide.
In response to significant league growth, the WNBPA opted out of that CBA earlier this year to push for a more lucrative revenue-sharing model as well as increased salaries, better benefits, a less rigid salary cap, and other improvements.
The pressure is on to settle on a new CBA before the latest deadline, with a potential work stoppage threatening to derail a league exploding in popularity.
"When it comes to things like renewals and partnership opportunities, sitting here with an uncertain labor negotiation, it's already having an impact on the basketball calendar and the business," a source told ESPN this week.
