As WNBA CBA negotiations rage on, revenue sharing continues to be a wedge issue for both sides of the table, with the league office and the WNBPA eyeing the terms of the most recent proposal from differing viewpoints.
The Athletic reported on Wednesday that the WNBA believes it has offered the revenue-sharing salary model that the players have pushed for throughout the CBA talks, leaving athletes to claim 50% of the "sharable" portion of league revenue.
How the WNBA will determine the "sharable" cut is uncertain, though sources claim the compensation structure on offer will result in players taking home less than 15% of the league's total earnings.
That percentage is likely to take a further hit over the lifetime of a new CBA, according to the league's multi-year earning projections.
"I don't feel like there's any cultivation of a culture of trust [in the CBA talks]," WNBPA president and Seattle Storm star Nneka Ogwumike told The Athletic. "I feel like we've been heard, but not listened to, and I'm hoping that that changes in this 40-day extension, because what we want to do is get a good deal done."
Parental leave, draft combine, and more enters the WNBA CBA talks
Along with the issue of revenue sharing, the latest WNBA offer also reportedly outlined other proposals, such as the institution of a required offseason draft combine, the elimination of team housing, and the possible extension of the competition calendar by starting earlier and/or finishing the season later.
As for the WNBPA's Tuesday counteroffer, the players union is seeking to eliminate the core designation and shorten the current four-year rookie contract to three years.
The WNBPA is also asking to add non-birthing parental leave, retirement benefits, and reimbursements for mental healthcare.
The WNBA and WNBPA will meet again to negotiate sometime this week, with talks racing toward the second-extension deadline of January 9th, 2026.
The WNBA and WNBPA agreed to a second CBA extension late Sunday night, officially pushing the contract's deadline to January 9th, 2026, to allow for 40 more days of negotiations.
Like the original CBA extension from October 31st to December 1st, either the WNBA or WNBPA now has the option to terminate the agreement with 48 hours of notice.
"We expect substantive movement from the league within this window," the players union told Front Office Sports, while the WNBA issued a statement saying both parties are "continuing to work toward a new agreement."
While total annual compensation offers have reportedly crossed the million-dollar mark for players earning the league's maximum, the WNBA's salary model — particularly in regards to revenue sharing — remains a core issue.
According to sources, the WNBA's proposal offers players a revenue-sharing option only after reaching certain minimums, while the WNBPA continues to advocate for a bigger cut of the exponentially growing league.
The players union is also reportedly advocating for a salary cap that increases with the league's income, rather than at an arbitrarily fixed growth rate.
With important offseason processes like the planned two-team expansion draft to stock incoming 2026 WNBA franchises the Portland Fire and Toronto Tempo now delayed until a new CBA is in place, the pressure is approaching new highs on both sides of the negotiating table.
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.
The WNBA and WNBPA might have 30 more days to negotiate, with sources telling ESPN late Tuesday that the league has formally offered an extension on the pair's October 31st CBA deadline.
With no agreement currently in sight and mounting rumors of a possible work stoppage, the proposed extension would allow bargaining to continue without interruption.
The action comes with precedent, as both parties agreed to a 60-day extension during the last CBA negotiation in 2019, with the deal later finalized in January 2020.
In response to the offer, ESPN reported that "players might be willing to consider an extension 'under the right circumstances' but they feel 'those circumstances do not yet exist.'"
The WNBPA did see an extension offer coming, with union senior adviser and legal counsel Erin D. Drake telling The Athletic on Tuesday, "We have worked hard to be able to say on Friday, we did it. Unfortunately, that's not going to happen."
Increased public scrutiny has fueled tensions around key issues on the negotiating table like revenue sharing and salary structure, with the league claiming that the WNBPA hasn't yet offered a viable counterproposal while the union accuses the WNBA of undervaluing players and delaying meaningful engagement.
"We urge the Players Association to spend less time disseminating public misinformation and more time joining us in constructive engagement across the table," a WNBA spokesperson told ESPN.
With Friday's CBA deadline fast approaching, the WNBPA could feel pressure to accept the extension offer from the WNBA — though kicking the can down the road doesn't always guarantee progress.
Five WNBA stars became cover stars this week, as Glamour Magazine named Minnesota Lynx forward Napheesa Collier, Indiana Fever guard Lexie Hull, Phoenix Mercury forward Satou Sabally, and New York Liberty centers Jonquel Jones and Nyara Sabally as the 2025 Women of the Year on Monday.
In the feature story, the players discussed the ongoing CBA negotiations, how they manage the WNBA's booming popularity, and other key issues.
"This is the best women's league in the world for a reason," said Jones. "The best athletes and the best competition, and people are seeing that now… It's time that we're paid like that."
Though the interview occurred weeks before her now-viral exit interview calling out WNBA leadership, Collier was already pointing out the disparities between player success and compensation.
"The amount of money that Caitlin Clark has made the league is insane, and she's getting 0% of it because we have no rev share," Collier said in her Glamour interview. "She gets less than $80,000 a year, and she's bringing in hundreds of millions of dollars. It's insane."
Hull also made waves, speaking to Clark's popularity with the Fever going on to battle injury adversity all the way to the 2025 WNBA semifinals.
"I think there is a level of jealousy when it comes to the Fever, just because of the media attention and the fans that have shown up for us ever since Caitlin got here," she told the magazine. "We've heard people and players and teams talking in their locker room about, 'We can’t let the Fever win.'"
The WNBA league office and the Players Association (WNBPA) exchanged escalating public statements this week, as both sides dispute terms surrounding a key issue in the ongoing CBA negotiations: revenue sharing.
"When the players opted out [of their CBA] a year ago, they made it clear they wanted a salary system that values their labor and allows them to grow with the business they are very clearly driving," WNBPA executive director Terri Jackson told ESPN in a statement this week, citing the vast disparity in revenue sharing percentages between the WNBA and the NBA.
Jackson continued by claiming that the WNBA intends to "run out the clock" and double down on a model that "intentionally undervalues the players."
Days ago, NBA commissioner Adam Silver said publicly that "[Revenue] share isn't the right way to look at it," pushing instead for salary increases in "absolute numbers."
WNBA leadership, however, denied that their current offer to players omits all revenue sharing, with the league calling the WNBPA's claim "incorrect and surprising," while indicating that an uncapped revenue sharing model "directly tied to the league's performance" is on the table.
"It is frustrating and counterproductive for the union to be making misrepresentations about our proposals while also accusing the league of engaging in delay," the WNBA's statement continued. "That is simply not true."
With both parties not seeing eye to eye, a resolution before the October 31st CBA deadline appears unlikely, though a formal request for an extension on negotiations is not currently in the cards.
Adam Silver is back in the headlines, with the NBA commissioner speaking out on the increasingly fraught WNBA CBA negotiations on Tuesday — and pushing for controlled salary increases rather than the revenue sharing model that players overwhelmingly want.
"I think [revenue] share isn't the right way to look at it because there's so much more revenue in the NBA," Silver told the Today Show. "I think you should look at absolute numbers. In terms of what they are making, they are going to get a big increase in this cycle of collective bargaining, and they deserve it."
In response, the WNBPA posted a clip of Silver's interview to Instagram Stories, captioning it with "Don't want to share, @adamsilvernba?"
Tuesday's back-and-forth emphasizes a significant wedge issue within the CBA talks, as WNBA players argue for a salary cap determined by the total revenue generated from all basketball-related activities like ticket sales, media deals, sponsorships, and merchandise — the same model currently used in the NBA.
The WNBA — like Silver — wants salary cap growth to continue on a fixed scale, raising player salaries in the upcoming CBA while controlling revenue distribution at the stakeholder level.
"I think we all agree we're trying to return every dollar we possibly can to the players, but we also want to incentivize investment from owners," WNBA commissioner Cathy Engelbert said when addressing the issue earlier this month.
With less than 10 days remaining before the CBA's October 31st deadline, differences continue to outweigh common ground en route to an unlikely deal.
The WNBA blew past viewership records throughout its 2025 campaign, ESPN reported this week, with the league delivering the network's most-watched season in history.
ESPN averaged 1.3 million viewers through 25 regular-season games, accounting for a 6% year-over-year increase, with the full season's 49 broadcasts averaging 1.2 million viewers per game — up 5% over last year's lineup.
Postseason coverage was especially popular, with the Las Vegas Aces' championship-winning series sweep averaging 1.5 million viewers per game to become the second-most watched WNBA Finals behind the 2024 edition.
The gains also hit the ESPN studio, with the network's WNBA Countdown averaging 437,000 viewers through the 2025 Playoffs — up 30% over last season — while Hoop Streams and The Wrap-Up saw a 60% year-over-year viewership growth across eight postseason episodes.
Overall, the numbers punctuate the stability of the WNBA, with viewership continuing to rise despite superstars like Indiana Fever guard Caitlin Clark, Minnesota Lynx forward Napheesa Collier, and Chicago Sky forward Angel Reese all missing screen time due to injury this year.
The dividends, as well, are already paying off, as the WNBA embarks on a new $2.2 billion media deal promising at least $200 million per year in returns through the 11-year contract.
With the league currently wading through contentious CBA negotiations, this year's soaring ratings seemingly back the WNBA Players Association's arguments for increased investment and revenue sharing.
The Las Vegas Aces won the 2025 WNBA Championship in Friday's Game 4, sweeping the Phoenix Mercury to put a bow on the league's longest-ever season — while also starting the clock on its next CBA.
"We have great players," Aces guard Chelsea Gray told reporters, stressing the importance of the upcoming deal after helping secure Las Vegas's third title in four years. "You need to treat them like that."
Like many teams across the league, the Aces have just one player under contract for 2026 — rookie Aaliyah Nye — after a rash of now-free agents opted to sign one-year contracts in anticipation of salary shifts in the upcoming CBA.
With the October 31st deadline looming, negotiations are likely to extend past that mark amid mounting tensions between players and WNBA commissioner Cathy Englebert in recent weeks.
"I think they'll work it out somehow, I hope — I haven't been consulted," said Aces owner Mark Davis.
Davis also joked about making Becky Hammon the best-paid head coach in the WNBA, with the Las Vegas manager currently pulling in $1 million annually — four times the single-year supermax player contract under the league's current CBA.
Salary structure a tipping point in WNBA CBA negotiations
As for the players union, the WNBPA says they're aiming to expand revenue sharing, while the league is reportedly looking to keep salary structures mostly intact.
"It's basically the same system that we exist in right now," WNBPA president Nneka Ogwumike told ESPN in August. "When you approach it from the perspective of their response to our proposal, yes, money is more, but ultimately if you look at the growth of the business, the money relative to the percentage of everything is virtually staying the same."
According to Front Office Sports, the most recent WNBA offer included an $850,000 supermax contract plus a veteran minimum near $300,000.
The WNBA will likely have until the end of 2025 to strike a deal, but with little common ground emerging thus far, the potential for a work stoppage looms large.
NBA commissioner Adam Silver was in the hot seat this week, addressing the growing rift between WNBA players and commissioner Cathy Engelbert while urging the league to come together on a new CBA agreement.
"Cathy Engelbert has presided over historic growth in the league, but there's no question that there's issues that we need to address with our players, not just economic," Silver said on Monday while acknowledging the significant power the NBA holds over WNBA operations. "I'm confident we can fix those over time and this league can continue to be on the rocket trajectory that it's on right now."
The viral exit interview from Minnesota Lynx star Napheesa Collier blasting WNBA leadership has placed serious pressure on Engelbert, but the NBA's outsized stake in the league also plays into increasingly heated collective bargaining negotiations.
NBA team owners collectively control 42% of the women's league, though WNBA players receive a much smaller revenue share than NBA players.
Under the current CBA, the WNBA must hit certain financial benchmarks before that revenue even becomes available — with players also reporting they're not given access to the data tracking those benchmarks.
Lisa Leslie, Kelley O'Hara break down WNBA leadership issues
Big names are continuing to speak out on the issues, from Engelbert's future to the WNBA's precarious relationship with the NBA.
"Cathy, yes, has done a really good job of helping raise capital, of helping administer the television deal… but you're only able to do that because of those players that are on the floor," retired WNBA icon Lisa Leslie said on Between the Lines late last week. "Listen, the wolf is only as strong as the pack and the pack is only as strong as the wolf. But just know, when the wolf doesn't lead the pack properly, the pack will eat the wolf."
"The bigger issue is the structure of the league, NBA being the ones who essentially make the decisions, and that's really who the Players Association is negotiating with," said USWNT legend Kelley O'Hara on this week's episode of Sports Are Fun! "Cathy's in the negotiation, but Cathy has to go back and get a sign-off from the NBA…. That's the bigger issue that Phee's trying to get to the heart of."