The WNBA is offering the players union a 30-day CBA extension to continue negotiations, according to the report
The WNBA has offered the Women’s National Basketball Players Association (WNBPA) a 30-day extension to continue negotiations on a new collective bargaining agreement. According to ESPN. the The current CBA will expire on Friday (October 31). Unless the two parties agree to an extension or new agreement in advance.
According to ESPN, players will only accept an extension “under the right circumstances,” but those circumstances “don’t exist yet.”
This will not be the first time that the two sides have needed an extension to complete negotiations on the new joint partnership agreement. In fact, the extension was necessary to complete the existing budget agreement. In 2019, the two sides announced a 60-day extension before agreeing to a new agreement in January 2020.
This will not be the first time that the two sides have needed an extension to complete negotiations on the new joint partnership agreement. In fact, the extension was necessary to complete the existing budget agreement. On October 28, 2019, three days before that year’s deadline, the two sides announced a 60-day extension.
If the two sides cannot agree on an extension, or the extension comes and goes without another extension or new agreement, the next step will be to stop working. At that point, all league business will stop — players won’t even have access to training facilities — but negotiations will continue.
The NBA has never lost a game due to a work stoppage, but it has come close. In 2003, there was no agreement in place by early April, and then-NBA Commissioner David Stern issued an ultimatum to come to terms on the new CBA by April 18 or the season would be canceled. Both sides did just that. As a result, the 2003 WNBA Draft, as well as preseason games, were postponed.
WNBPA Senior Counsel and Legal Counsel Erin Drake The athlete said On Tuesday, the two sides would not agree on a new partnership agreement before October 31.
“We’ve worked hard to be able to say on Friday, ‘We did it,'” Drake said. “But unfortunately, that’s not going to happen.” “In dance, it takes two people to tango. It was difficult to find a rhythm, to find a rhythm, to find the same sense of urgency.” [from the league]Just to be honest, to get it done.”
In a statement issued to ESPN, the league responded by saying it made an offer to the players on Oct. 1, which was ignored until Monday.
“We have been negotiating with the Players Association in good faith and urgently for several months with the goal of finalizing a new collective bargaining agreement as quickly as possible,” a WNBA spokesperson told ESPN. “Throughout this process, we have been clear that our top priority is to reach a new collective bargaining agreement that addresses players’ demands for significant pay and benefit increases and improvements to their experience, while ensuring the long-term growth and success of the league and its teams.
“We urge the Players Association to spend less time spreading public misinformation and more time joining us in constructive engagement across the table.”
The WNBA and WNBPA have been embroiled in a bitter labor dispute for more than a year. In October 2024, the players announced their intention to opt out of the current CBA.
“This is a defining moment, not only for the WNBA, but for all of us who believe in progress,” WNBPA President Nneka Ogwumike said in a statement at the time. “The world has evolved since 2020, and we cannot stand still. If we stay in the current agreement, we will fall behind.
“Opting out isn’t just about bigger paychecks – it’s also about demanding our rightful share of the business we’ve built, improving working conditions, and securing a future where the success we achieve benefits today’s players and future generations. We’re not just asking for a CBA that reflects our value; we’re demanding it, because we’ve earned it.”
In recent months, tensions have escalated between the players and the league, specifically Commissioner Cathy Engelbert. Notably, WNBPA Vice President Naphesa Collier delivered a stinging rebuke of Engelbert during her Minnesota Lynx post-season exit interview.
“We have the best players in the world. We have the best fans in the world. But now we have the worst leadership in the world,” Collier said, while also accusing Engelbert of making disparaging remarks about players, including Caitlin Clark.
Engelbert later addressed the criticism during her pre-finals press conference.
“I have great respect for Navisa and every player in our league,” she said. “They are at the heart of everything we do. I was frustrated when I heard that some players feel the league and I personally don’t care about them or listen to them, and if the players at the W don’t feel valued and appreciated by the league, then we have to do better and I have to do better.”
The main sticking point between the two sides is the revenue-sharing model.
Under the current CBA, the salary cap — and thus player salaries — increases at a fixed rate of 3% per year. Players are pushing for a new model where salaries grow as the business grows. currently, Reports indicate Players only make about 9% of total revenue, which is a far cry from the 49-51% of basketball-related income that NBA Players receive.
While Engelbert W NBA Both commissioner Adam Silver have publicly supported increasing player salaries, but have backed away from revenue sharing.
“I think syndication is not the right way to look at it because there is so much revenue in the NBA,” Silver said earlier this month. “I think you have to look at the absolute numbers in terms of what they’re doing. They’re going to get a big raise in this cycle of collective bargaining and they deserve it.”