The WNBA still isn’t offering million-dollar salaries as CBA talks drag on originally appeared on The Sporting News. Add The Sporting News as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
In 18 days, the WNBA’s collective bargaining agreement expires, which may well lead to a work stoppage — or an owners’ lockout of the players — amid the league’s surge in popularity.
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CBA negotiations have dominated the headlines in recent weeks, even as the first best-of-seven WNBA Finals in the league’s history ended Friday with the Las Vegas Aces claiming their third championship in four years. And public opinion, it seems, is not on the league’s side as the WNBPA seeks historic gains in a new agreement.
Commissioner Cathy Engelbert was heavily booed as she awarded the championship trophy to the Aces following their sweep of the Phoenix Mercury on Friday, the same day that the league’s latest offer to the players was revealed in reporting by Front Office Sports.
According to FOS, the WNBA’s newest proposal to players includes a supermax contract salary of around $850,000 and a veteran minimum salary of close to $300,000.
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These figures represent significant raises from the current supermax ($249,244) and vet minimum ($78,831). But players like Indiana Fever guard Sophie Cunningham have insisted that they are not settling this time around, especially when franchise values have soared and a media rights deal worth more than $200 million annually takes effect in 2026.
“There’s a potential lockout,” Cunningham said earlier this month. “I promise you we aren’t going to play until they give us what we deserve.”
