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.
WNBPA president Nneka Ogwumike made waves on Wednesday, with the Seattle Storm star becoming the first player to join offseason league Project B — a new overseas pro women's basketball venture set to tip off in late 2026.
"There's so many different opportunities for players [outside of the WNBA] and that's always been the case," said Ogwumike. "This is just another one of those opportunities and I know that a lot of players are doing what they can to ensure that they can maximize on the short time that they have in their playing careers. This is my chance to be able to do that."
The Project B deal reportedly exceeds the 35-year-old forward's WNBA salary, with Ogwumike also receiving an equity stake in the fledgling league as part of her deal.
"It's not something that's usually offered to us, and by us, I mean women athletes," Ogwumike explained. "So for there to be an entry level of equity across the board was eye-catching. It's something that I stand for, obviously."
Headed by Skype cofounder Geoff Prentice and former Facebook executive Grady Burnett, Project B looks to field a total of 66 players across six teams.
The concept revolves around a Formula One-style event, with teams playing a traveling circuit of tournaments across multiple European and Asian cities before winners advance to compete for a world title.
Project B expects to run from November 2026 through April 2027, with all games streaming live.
"Basketball has never been just a game," said retired WNBA legend and early Project B investor Candace Parker. "It's culture, community, and connection. But for too long, players have carried the game without a real stake in its future. And women, especially, [are] asked to wait for change."
"Project B isn't waiting."
The WNBA Players Association is making friends, as brother player unions for the NBA, MLB, and NFL all issued statements last week supporting the WNBPA while the league officially extended the ongoing CBA negotiations by an additional 30 days.
Calling WNBA players' impact on the league "undeniable," the NFLPA wrote on Wednesday that "It's time for fair compensation, proper working conditions, and a future that puts players first."
"We're with you for as long as it takes to get what you deserve," the MLBPA told WNBPA players in a Saturday solidarity post on social media.
"We stand with the women of the WNBPA as they work toward a collective bargaining agreement that reflects their value and impact both on and off the court," the NBPA posted on Saturday.
Amid the statements of support from other player unions, the WNBA and WNBPA also officially extended their CBA negotiation deadline on Friday.
The league office and the WNBPA now have until November 30th to reach a deal, though the players can terminate the extension at any time with 48 hours notice — a move that would put them on a path toward a possible work stoppage.
"While we believed negotiations would be further along, the players are more focused, united, and determined than ever to reach an agreement that reflects their value and undeniable impact on the league," the union wrote in a Friday statement.
ESPN reported that the two sides met multiple times last week, as a busy WNBA offseason with two expansion drafts and an active free agency period looms.
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.
With the October 31st WNBA CBA deadline just days away, more than 70 elected officials are weighing in, sending a letter voicing support for the WNBA Players Association (WNBPA) to league commissioner Cathy Engelbert and NBA commissioner Adam Silver last Friday.
"This new CBA deal is an opportunity to set the record straight that women are valuable workers who deserve to be paid accordingly and treated fairly," the letter states.
The lawmakers also urge the league to "bargain in good faith to reach a fair CBA" before the current agreement expires.
Mayors, council members, and assembly members from seven WNBA markets signed the document — including New York City mayoral candidate Zohran Mamdani — as WNBA leadership continues facing increased scrutiny.
"We all want to be able to take in a full season, but we know...what [the players] deserve to earn," said New York City council member Tiffany Cabán, a longtime NY Liberty fan who spearheaded the effort.
The action represents a growing number of politicians applying public pressure to commissioner Engelbert, with the letter's 70 lawmakers joining the 85 members of the Democratic Women's Caucus and House Democratic Caucus, who penned their own letter last month.
As external pressure builds, hope is dimming for an agreement by Friday, with WNBPA senior advisor and legal counsel Erin D. Drake telling The Athletic on Tuesday that "it takes two to tango, and it has been difficult to find a beat, to find a rhythm, and to find the same sense of urgency [from the WNBA]."
As all eyes turn to the WNBA this week, the question remains whether a new CBA or deadline extension will be on Friday's docket.
"We're still going to be negotiating until [it's] done," promised Drake. "We just don't know how long that is going to take, unfortunately."
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.
Unrivaled fans are bidding on pieces of basketball history, as the 3×3 league pushes its auction partnership with memorabilia retailer The Realest ahead of its second season tip-off on January 5th.
First launched in July, Unrivaled doubled down on the auction offerings this week, stocking game-worn jerseys, balls, and other inaugural season exclusives for collectors to bid on.
Even more, sales continue to mount, with a jersey worn by Lunar Owls star and Unrivaled co-founder Napheesa Collier topping all items with a $2,222 price tag last month.
Not far behind Collier's game-worn jersey was Rose BC's Angel Reese and Mist BC's Breanna Stewart — the league's other co-founder — whose jerseys sold for $1,605 and $950, respectively.
The auction and its ongoing series of memorabilia drops are a result of last February's breakthrough group licensing agreement between Unrivaled and the WNBPA, which allowed the upstart 3x3 league to use player branding on merchandise — benefitting both the offseason venture and its athletes as they monetized their names, images, and likenesses.
How to buy Unrivaled memorabilia on The Realest
Fans can now browse inventory and place bids to secure memorabilia from Unrivaled's debut season online at The Realest.
For those hoping for a guaranteed outcome, Unrivaled also added a game-worn mystery jersey to its offerings, with a limited 50 surprise jerseys currently available outside of the auction as a direct sale.
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.