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WE’RE IN THE ENDGAME
Image via WNBA.
Deadlines always create a sense of anxiety. When you see a clear finish line, everything starts to crystallize. You know you have to make the absolute most of the time you have left and put your best foot forward. The deadline is usually a clarifying moment, and knowing that a project is about to end can provide some sense of relief. The WNBA might be an exception to that rule.
Early in the morning on February 23, ESPN’s Katie Barnes reported that the WNBA generated enough revenue in 2025 to trigger player revenue sharing. This is a notable and historic achievement, as the 2020 CBA stipulated that revenue sharing would only take effect if certain benchmarks were met.
From Barnes’ story:
Under the 2020 CBA, players would receive 50% of shared revenue -- defined in the CBA as the amount of revenue over a predetermined threshold minus 30% for expenses. In 2025, the players' portion of shared revenue amounted to about $16 million, according to the union. Of that, $8 million will be paid to players who were active in 2025, the union said. As mandated by the CBA, the other half ($8 million) will be allocated to league marketing agreements, which are offseason initiatives offered to some players to promote the league and its partners.
As we’ve chronicled here at the WBB Roundup, there’s a lot of money coming into the WNBA, and it’s going to be a battle to see who gets what and when. And when may be coming pretty soon.
Later in the day on February 23, ESPN’s Alexa Philippou reported that the WNBA informed teams and the WNBPA that a new CBA would need to be agreed to by Tuesday, March 10, in order for the season to start on time. The league still has to conduct two expansion drafts, set a salary cap, free agency, etc., and that’s before the Draft itself on April 13.
The deadline of the 10th is somewhat sudden, considering the league has been dragging its feet throughout this entire saga
With an actual deadline in place, will that lead to a swift resolution and a CBA everyone is happy with? Based on recent discussions between the two sides, the sense of optimism is there.
“I think there has to be a lot of movement in a lot of places in the CBA,” Napheesa Collier recently told Yahoo Sports, “but the fact that we are moving, I think, is really hopeful."
Decision time is here. It’s been a two-year journey to reach this point, and the WNBA has grown immensely during that time. A new CBA should provide the long term stability to help the league grow even more. If we don’t get a CBA, we enter a world of uncertainty. Clock's ticking.