A picture is worth a thousand words.
And on Saturday night, the picture that the WNBA’s biggest stars were painting was that the collective bargaining agreement negotiations between the players and the league haven’t progressed nearly positively enough.
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With an October deadline looming, WNBA All-Stars wore “Pay Us What You Owe Us” t-shirts during All-Star Game warmups. This collective demonstration comes on the heels of 40 WNBA players having met with the league during the latest round of collective bargaining agreement negotiations on Thursday.
Indiana Fever guard Caitlin Clark, one of the WNBA All-Star Game’s two team captains, joined in on the demonstration.
Afterwards, as WNBA commissioner Cathy Engelbert awarded Minnesota Lynx forward Napheesa Collier the 2025 All-Star Game MVP trophy, chants of “Pay them!” rang out from the sold-out Gainbridge Fieldhouse crowd of 16,988.
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“That was a powerful moment,” Los Angeles Sparks guard Kelsey Plum said of the crowd’s support. “We didn’t, at least as players, we didn’t know that was going to happen. So it was a genuine surprise. Those chants tonight, those signs, it just shows that as players, we are united, but the fans are united in believing what we’re seeking.”
Plum said the players wanted to send a clear, concise message from all of the league’s most prominent players as the sports world was watching.
“We wanted to do something that was united as a collective, and I thought that it’s a very powerful moment and got the point across. Sometimes, you don’t have to say anything,” Plum said.
The WNBA announced a new 11-year media rights deal with Disney, Amazon Prime Video and NBCUniversal in July of 2024. The 11-year deal is valued at $2.2 billion, or $200 million annually. Future agreements with additional partners could bring the league’s overall media deals closer to $3 billion.
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This article originally appeared on Hawkeyes Wire: Caitlin Clark joins in ‘Pay Us What You Owe Us’ WNBA CBA demonstration
