What was meant to be a turning point for the WNBA turned into what Breanna Stewart called a “wasted opportunity.” During All-Star weekend in Indianapolis, more than 40 of the league’s top players—stars and veterans alike—crammed into a hotel conference room for the first in-person meeting with the league to negotiate a new collective bargaining agreement. The turnout was so large, they ran out of chairs. It wasn’t just a meeting—it was a show of force. And thanks to reporting from ESPN’s Holly Rowe, we know just how powerful that moment was behind closed doors.
According to Rowe, the players’ demands were direct and unified. Here is what she revealed from the private meeting: “There was a strong feeling among the players, which they expressed during Thursday’s meeting, that they want to have a piece of the revenue—that is, they want revenue sharing.”
Rowe continued, emphasizing the incredible solidarity in the room and the historic nature of the gathering: “In fact, so many players attended the face-to-face meeting—the first such meeting about the CBA—that they ran out of chairs. What’s clear is that the players are united in their goal of securing a fair share of the league’s revenue. The message is that they’re standing together, acting like a united nation, and they want a real commitment to revenue sharing and equality.”
But that powerful, unified front was met with what the players described as “fluff.” According to Breanna Stewart, one of the union’s vice presidents, the league’s response was a major disappointment. “We could have really kind of gotten into a deeper dive of everything but it was a lot of fluff that we couldn’t get past.” Stewart said, her frustration clear.
So what’s the big holdup? It all comes down to one thing: the players want their fair share. With the WNBA’s popularity exploding, franchise values skyrocketing, and a fat new TV deal on the horizon, the league is richer than it has ever been. The players, led by union president Nneka Ogwumike and VPs Stewart and Napheesa Collier, are done accepting what they see as crumbs. “Rev sharing is truly transformational,” said Las Vegas Aces star Kelsey Plum. “We want a piece of the entire pie. Not a piece of part of the pie.”
But according to the players, the league’s initial counteroffer wasn’t even in the same ballpark. “We were disappointed, for sure, in what they came back with,” said Collier. “It was just nowhere near what we asked for. Or even in the same conversation.” The sentiment in the room was that the league was trying to impress them with “fancy numbers and some fancy language,” as Gabby Williams put it, but the players weren’t buying it. “They thought… that they could just impress us… and not think that we would actually understand what this meant for us,” she said.
The clock is ticking. The current CBA expires on October 31, and with a potential work stoppage looming, the stakes couldn’t be higher. The players are unified and clear on their demands. As Natasha Cloud of the New York Liberty put it, “We’re not going to be holding hands through the CBA. We’re fighting for what we’re due, what we’re worth, our value.” The league has repeatedly told them, “We hear you.” But as the players made clear this week, being heard is no longer enough. They want action.
(This is a developing story…)
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