Last October, the Women’s National Basketball Players Association opted out of the league’s current collective bargaining agreement, putting into motion a critical negotiation that could reshape the WNBA’s future. Talks have ramped up in recent weeks as Friday’s deadline approaches, but the two sides remain divided.
The sides seem unlikely to reach a new deal before midnight. Erin D. Drake, senior advisor and legal counsel for the WNBPA, told 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.”
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She added: “I pray, I believe in miracles. I’m not hopeful (agreeing to a deal by Friday) is going to come to fruition.”
Sources said the WNBA offered an extension to continue talks.
But key differences remain on revenue sharing and the system’s implications for players’ salary framework. The Athletic answers several key questions below about what might be next without a deal.
What is happening before the deadline?
The sides are continuing to meet until Friday’s deadline. A WNBA spokesperson said that the WNBPA submitted a counterproposal on Oct. 27, after the league submitted its most recent proposal on Oct. 1.
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“We have been negotiating with the Players Association in good faith and with urgency for several months with the goal of finalizing a new collective bargaining agreement as quickly as possible,” a league spokesperson said in a statement. “Throughout this process, we have been clear that our top priority is reaching a new collective bargaining agreement that addresses players’ ask for significant increases in pay, benefits and enhancements to their experience, while ensuring the long-term growth and success of the league and its teams.”
The players’ union continues to propose a system in which player salaries are tied directly to the WNBA business, where salary increases are linked to a percentage of revenue generated by the league. The WNBA, meanwhile, has proposed a revenue-sharing system similar to what is currently in its CBA, which has a fixed salary cap and additional uncapped revenue sharing, but only if league revenue exceeds certain targets. In either scenario, significant increases in player salaries are expected.
On Tuesday, the WNBA offered the players’ union a 30-day extension to continue negotiating the new agreement, sources with knowledge of the talks confirmed to The Athletic. Drake had acknowledged that among strategic options “an extension is always on the table, as are a number of other options.” A source familiar with the negotiations said that while the players would consider an extension under the right circumstances, “those circumstances do not yet exist.”
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Does a work stoppage immediately begin if a new deal or extension isn’t reached?
No. Even if the sides do not agree to a new agreement or a temporary extension by Friday’s deadline, a work stoppage does not go into effect immediately.
Without a deal on Saturday, and if no extension is agreed to, the sides enter a period of status quo, which in effect means that working conditions remain the same. Players could still enter team facilities and receive medical benefits in a status quo period. If the league wanted to change any conditions, it would have to bring the desired changes to the WNBPA for bargaining, even as the parties negotiate a new contract.
In a period of status quo, either the league or the players’ union could announce a work stoppage. Players could elect to strike if a contract is not in place, though it’s not required. While they would not immediately miss games in a strike this fall, as the season is over, the decision to do so now would cut off formal communication between players and their team coaches and executives, and it could create a relational rift. The league could choose to lock out players, which would prevent them from training or receiving medical treatment at team facilities, among other changes.
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Additional legal action also would become possible if the parties fail to reach a new agreement or agree to an extension. In general, if the union were to strike or the league were to announce a lockout, the other side could then file an unfair labor practice with the National Labor Relations Board. Martin Edel, the co-chair of Goulston & Storrs Sports Law Practice and a professor of sports law at Columbia Law School, said that while unfair labor practice lawsuits are unlikely to settle core issues of the agreement, they can be used to keep pressure on and continue the conversations.
The ongoing government shutdown might limit potential short-term legal action, however. The NLRB furloughed nearly all of its employees earlier this month and has ceased its case handling during the lapse.
If a deal isn’t reached, players could also vote to dissolve their union to file antitrust lawsuits against the league and its owners. The National Basketball Players Association did this late in its 2011 CBA talks. Labor law presides when a union is in place, but eliminating the union opens the door to antitrust law and a different negotiating tactic that can put pressure on the league.
A government mediator could also be brought in to assist with WNBA CBA talks, but the process of onboarding someone to help negotiate could also be complicated by the government shutdown.
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Has the WNBA ever had a work stoppage?
The WNBA has never missed games due to labor disputes. However, it is common for the negotiations on new CBAs to stretch into the New Year. In 2020, a new CBA was agreed to in mid-January. The 2014 CBA was reached in mid-February.
What is the benefit of an extension?
An extension is another possible outcome for how talks proceed. The proposed 30-day extension would have to be agreed upon by both sides and would postpone Friday’s expiration date for the current CBA. Edel said extensions are largely a public signaling of movement, indicating to stakeholders that both sides are actively working toward a new deal.
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“The biggest benefit (of an extension) is certainty,” Drake said. “You know what the current period under that extension is going to look like. It’s going to look like this (current) agreement. … The drawbacks of that is that you have cemented this reality while you’re negotiating and that things remain the same.”
The league and its players agreed to multiple extensions in the 2020 CBA talks, with the initial extension extending the prior agreement 60 days and a second extension lasting another two weeks.
This article originally appeared in The Athletic.
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