WNBPA executive director Terri Jackson wasn’t a big fan of Adam Silver weighing in on the union’s labor talks. Jackson took Silver to task for his comments Tuesday, in which he said WNBA players deserve a “big increase” in pay.
While Silver’s quotes seemed supportive on the surface, Jackson was quick to point out that Silver tried to downplay the players’ desire for better revenue sharing, one of the biggest issues facing the WNBPA during negotiations.
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Jackson called out Silver’s comments as pro-league, saying they were “more of the same,” per The Athletic.
“You know they know it’s bad when the best they say they can do is more of the same: a fixed salary system and a separate revenue-sharing plan that only includes a piece of a piece of the pie, and pays themselves (the league) back first,” Terri Jackson said in a statement on Wednesday to The Athletic.
When asked whether WNBA players deserve “a larger share of the revenue” on the TODAY show Tuesday, Silver quickly dismissed the idea that revenue sharing was the right approach for the players.
“I think share isn’t the right way to look at it, because there’s so much more revenue in the NBA. I think you should look at it in absolute numbers in terms of what they are making. And they are going to get a big increase in this cycle of collective bargaining. And they deserve it.”
NBA players receive roughly 50 percent of revenue generated by the NBA. It’s not publicly known what percentage of revenue WNBA players receive, but it’s well below what NBA players receive.
“Even without knowing the exact revenues of the WNBA, we know they’re certainly not making even close to 50%,” University of San Francisco professor of sports management Nola Agha told Yahoo Sports in July. “So they’re absolutely underpaid.”
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Raising the share of revenue they receive is arguably the biggest issue for WNBA players in labor talks. Los Angeles Sparks star Kelsey Plum made it clear in August that revenue sharing needed to improve, saying WNBA players are fighting for “the same percentage of revenue, or a similar percentage of revenue” as NBA players. Plum clarified that WNBA players are not asking to be paid like NBA players, calling it “misinformation.”
By immediately downplaying the issue of revenue sharing Tuesday, Silver seemed to invalidate one of the WNBPA’s biggest labor asks. Jackson took issue with that approach, saying Silver’s comments were a perfect encapsulation of how WNBA has approached negotiations.
“We’ve come to the table prepared to do business. They’ve responded with bad math and are hoping everyone doesn’t understand what ‘uncapped’ actually means,” Jackson’s statement said. “Adam Silver said it himself on behalf of the WNBA. ‘Share isn’t the word.’ It’s not in their vocabulary.”
While WNBA commissioner Cathy Engelbert is in charge of negotiations with the WNBPA, Engelbert reports to Silver, so he’s not exactly the most impartial observer of the situation.
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Napheesa Collier attends labor meeting with Cathy Engelbert
Labor talks between Engelbert and the WNBPA have been contentious ahead of the expiration of the current CBA on Oct. 31. Multiple players, led by Minnesota Lynx star Napheesa Collier, publicly blasted Engelbert in the weeks leading up the end of October.
Despite engaging in a verbal back-and-forth, however, Collier was reportedly one of the individuals to talk part in a labor meeting with Engelbert during the WNBA Finals, according to The Athletic.
That meeting, which The Athletic said remained respectful, was attended by Engelbert, Nneka Ogwumike, Kelsey Plum, Breanna Stewart and Collier. Both sides also met Thursday to continue conversations. Revenue sharing and player salaries remained significant issues for the players in that meeting, per The Athletic.
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While both sides continue to meet with just days left before the Oct. 31 deadline, Jackson’s comments indicate there’s still a lot of work to be done before a deal is reached. Silver’s comments Tuesday appeared supportive on the surface, but in reality only further inflamed the union as it enters the final days of negotiations.
