The WNBA and the players’ union have agreed to a moratorium on league activities starting Monday. This decision was made due to the failure to reach a new collective bargaining agreement or extend the existing one by the Friday deadline. Negotiations are ongoing, with significant gaps remaining on issues such as salaries and revenue sharing.
The moratorium will pause the initial phase of free agency, during which teams typically offer qualifying deals and franchise tags to players. Before this, the WNBA was legally obligated to allow teams to make offers under the expired CBA. Teams were set to begin sending out offers to players on Sunday.
Despite the mutual decision for the moratorium, the two parties are still far from reaching a consensus on critical matters. The league’s recent offer included a proposal to increase the maximum base salary to $1 million by 2026, potentially reaching $1.3 million through revenue sharing. This represents a significant increase from the current $249,000 base salary, with potential growth to nearly $2 million throughout the agreement’s duration.
Additionally, the league’s proposal suggests that players would receive over 70% of net revenue, factoring in expenses such as upgraded facilities, charter flights, premium accommodations, medical services, security, and arena expenses.
Looking ahead to 2026, the average player salary is projected to surpass $530,000, up from the current $120,000, and could exceed $770,000 over the agreement’s term. The minimum salary is expected to rise from $67,000 to around $250,000 in the initial year. Notably, the proposal aims to provide increased financial support to rising star players like Caitlin Clark, Angel Reese, and Paige Bueckers, all of whom are still on their rookie contracts.
A major point of contention in the negotiations is revenue sharing. The union’s counterproposal suggests allocating around 30% of gross revenue to players, with this percentage calculated from revenue before expenses. The proposal includes a $10.5 million salary cap for teams in the first year, and the revenue-sharing percentage is proposed to increase gradually each year.