Overview
- Talks remain far apart over whether compensation should be tied to gross revenue, as the union proposes, or to net revenue after expenses, as the league favors.
- The WNBA projects the WNBPA’s roughly 30% of gross revenue plan with an estimated $10.5 million salary cap would produce about $700 million in losses over the deal.
- The union disputes that figure as “absolutely false,” pointing to differing treatment of expansion fees that it counts as real money and the league treats as net neutral.
- The league’s Dec. 18 framework ties pay to net revenue, starts the salary cap at about $5 million, and includes uncapped revenue sharing with max salaries rising above $1.3 million toward nearly $2 million.
- Players have authorized union leaders to vote on a strike if needed as the existing CBA extension runs to Jan. 9, with expansion to 18 teams and recent $250 million franchise fees adding to the accounting stakes.