WNBA CBA Standoff Overshadows All-Star Weekend in Indianapolis

WNBA All-Star festivities wrapped up in Indianapolis, but a dark cloud seemed to hang over the entire weekend.

Caitlin Clark missing the on-court activities — and a homecoming that would’ve been one of the highlights of the season — due to injury certainly soured the mood.

But the broader issue of negotiations between the union and league toward a new collective bargaining agreement pervaded.

Players wore black shirts that read “Pay Us What You Owe Us” during warmups ahead of the All-Star Game on Saturday night. The sold-out crowd of more than 16,000 at Gainbridge Fieldhouse rallied behind the players, chanting “Pay them!”

“That was a powerful moment,” Los Angeles Sparks guard Kelsey Plum said of the crowd’s support. “We didn’t — at least as players — we didn’t know that was going to happen. So it was a genuine surprise. Those chants tonight, those signs, it just shows that as players, we are united, but the fans are united in believing what we’re seeking.”

Revenue sharing and salary disputes have been pertinent issues in the W for years. With the traction the league has gained recently, the topic is more prominent than ever.

The WNBA reached an 11-year, $2.2 billion media rights deal with Disney last July, which will begin next season. Five new expansion teams have been announced — three of which will pay record expansion fees of $250 million each — and are expected to join the league by 2030.

In the next five years, the league will include the most teams it ever has and figures to keep growing in popularity. So why can’t the WNBPA and the league come to an agreement?

One major factor in the impasse has been the salary structure and details of revenue sharing.

The league is proposing a fixed percentage of revenue be allocated to the players, while the players are pushing for a more flexible structure that would grow alongside the business, according to WNBPA president Nneka Ogwumike.

“We see the growth of the league, and as it stands, the current salary system is not really paying us what we’re owed,” Ogwumike said.

WNBA Commissioner Cathy Engelbert responded, saying Ogwumike’s interpretation of the league’s revenue-sharing proposal is “not accurate.”

Thursday’s CBA meeting presented an opportunity for progress, drawing a record turnout of more than 40 players. But players described the meeting as a squandered opportunity. WNBPA vice president Napheesa Collier said players were “disappointed” with the league’s offer.

It appears the league still stands far apart from the players’ demands. Engelbert viewed the meeting differently.

“We had a candid dialogue, and this is part of the process,” she said.

More drama followed on Saturday after the All-Star Game. Plum mentioned a players-only meeting that morning, during which they decided to wear the “Pay Us What You Owe Us” T-shirts.

“This united front was determined this morning, that we had a meeting for,” Plum said. “Not to tattletale, but zero members of Team [Caitlin] Clark were very present for that.”

Whether Plum intended the remark as a joke or a jab is unclear, but it drew backlash on social media and was not well received.

Tensions surrounding the CBA discussions are rising as the deadline looms. The current agreement expires Oct. 31, and while a work stoppage wouldn’t benefit either side, it seems to grow more likely by the day.