On Saturday night, the WNBA All-Stars took the court for warm-ups wearing black T-shirts that read, "Pay Us What You Owe Us." Immediately, everyone on social media became a financial expert, as critics lambasted the players for asking for higher salaries from a league that doesn't turn a profit.
But there's a lot more to it than that.
Let’s start with the shirts. I'll be honest: I don't think "owe" is the right word. The current Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA) is what the players negotiated and agreed to back in January 2020. If you don’t like the terms, take it up with the people who signed the contract five years ago.
That said, the league is a very different place than it was in 2020. And that's the entire point of these current negotiations.
The current CBA — which players opted out of last fall — expires at the end of October. Over All-Star Weekend in Indianapolis, more than 40 players met face-to-face with WNBA leadership to negotiate a new deal. Their two biggest priorities are simple: higher salaries and a larger share of the league’s growing revenue.
I know the word "profit" gets thrown around a lot in these conversations, usually by people who are only interested in shutting the conversation down. And by people who don't watch the WNBA to begin with. But here's a fact that matters: revenue and profit are not the same thing. And the WNBA is generating a lot more revenue than it used to.
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The league just signed a $2.2-billion media rights deal that kicks in next year. That’s billion — with a "B." Three new expansion teams were just announced earlier this month — with each franchise paying $250 million to join the league. Five total expansion teams will join the WNBA by 2030. This league is on pace to profit next year. And the years after that.
"Players have more power than ever in the history of women's sports right now," WNBPA Vice President Napheesa Collier said on Friday. "And I think we know that."
So these negotiations aren't about the league’s last 28 years. They're about the next seven years, which is how long this new CBA is expected to last.
At least, that's what people are saying in my Twitter/X mentions. But it's simply not true.
Caitlin Clark may have been the catalyst that brought millions of new eyeballs to the sport in 2024. But the WNBA has kept that momentum in Clark's sophomore season.
TV ratings are even higher than last year, up 23% across the board. Attendance is up 26%. Merchandise sales on WNBAShop.com are up 40%. All-Star voting shattered records this year with 19.2 million votes — 10 times more than two years ago. Caitlin Clark didn’t even play in the All-Star Game and still had fans lining up in the streets of Indianapolis just to see her walk into the building. Even without the Indiana Fever star, 16,988 screaming fans showed up to Gainbridge Fieldhouse for Saturday's All-Star Game — just 286 people short of a sell-out crowd.
And it's not just about Clark, either. The highest average attendance in the league right now actually belongs to the Golden State Valkyries — a brand-new expansion team that didn’t even exist this time last year. The Valks have sold out every single one of their home games this season.
Just because you aren't watching, doesn't mean no one else is.
Sure, they'd love to make $10 million a year. So would I. So would you. But WNBA players know that's not going to happen. What they are asking for is a revenue-sharing model that reflects the explosive popularity of the league and gives them a fair piece of the growth they’re helping generate.
WNBA players receive just 9.3% of total league revenue, according to Market Watch. By comparison, NBA players get 50%.
And as far as salaries go, the average in 2024 was just $147,745. Per the current operating CBA, the league's super-maximum is $249,244, and the minimum contract for players with two or fewer years of service is $66,079. Clark is scheduled to earn $78,066 in 2025, and three-time league MVP A'ja Wilson will bank $200,000.
While the players I spoke with this weekend wouldn’t share exact figures, WNBPA President Nneka Ogwumike explained that the league's proposal includes a fixed revenue share, while the players are asking for a percentage that grows as the league grows.
"We want to be able to have that fair share moving forward, especially as we see all of the investment going in," Ogwumike said on Saturday. "And we want to be able to have our salaries reflected in a structure that makes sense for us."
WNBA Commissioner Cathy Engelbert described the league’s meeting with players as "constructive" and said she remains "really optimistic that we'll get something done that'll be transformational."
"I want a lot of the same things the players want," Engelbert said before Saturday's All-Star Game. "That has not changed. But we also have to have a process where we go back and forth. And that’s where we are."
For now, though, the two sides remain far apart. At least, that's the vibe I got from the players in Indianapolis. And with the current CBA expiring in just a few months, the clock is ticking.
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And that brings us back to the shirts.
No, I don’t think the players are "owed" money under the current agreement. But I do think they’ve earned the right to demand more in the next one. Their demands aren't based on entitlement or delusion. They're based on market value — backed by data, attendance, engagement and dollars.
So now that you know what’s actually going on, maybe you can all stop yelling at me on Twitter.
Or don’t. But at least bring better arguments.
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