NBA commissioner Adam Silver said Tuesday that WNBA players will receive a “big increase” in salaries in their new CBA.
But he pointed to “absolute numbers” as the way to measure that growth as opposed to share of league revenue that the players are demanding.
Advertisement
“I think share isn’t the right way to look at it because there’s so much more revenue in the NBA,” Silver said on 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,” he added.
Players are reportedly pushing for a system in which the percentage of revenue that goes toward salaries grows with the business — similar to the NBA, where the salary cap is determined by the basketball-related income (BRI), with players taking in about half of that mark as dictated by their CBA.
As such, Silver’s comments didn’t exactly please the WNBPA who reposted a clip of Silver speaking during the show on their Instagram story, with the caption, “Don’t want to share?” while tagging him.
Brad Penner-Imagn Images
WNBA stars clarify their CBA demands
The narrative about WNBA players asking to be paid the same as their NBA counterparts has fueled intense debate this year over what the players could rightfully demand for.
Advertisement
However, LA Sparks star Kelsey Plum tried to clear this narrative during an August episode of her “All The Smoke” podcast, describing it as false information.
“A lot of times, the misinformation comes in where we’re asking to be paid what the men are being paid,” she said.
“That’s not true. We’re asking for the same percentage of revenue, or a similar percentage of revenue. Right now, that’s not the case. And so, that’s what we’re fighting for,” Plum added.
The Phoenix Mercury‘s Satou Sabally also said during the WNBA Finals that a recent proposal from the league makes the players feel as if “we’re not part of the growth of the league.”
Advertisement
“If we continued with this CBA, we would, percentage-wise, go down on our [compensation],” she said.
The league’s salary cap was $1,507,100 in 2025, with a super-maximum of $249,244 and minimum of $66,079, per ESPN.
Meanwhile, the players and the league have until October 31 to hammer out a new CBA or they risk a work stoppage. With Adam Silver now in the mix, they could also agree to extend that deadline, but there’s not much room for error this offseason.
Related Headlines
