WNBA Increases Offer To Players In Recent Contract Negotiations
WNBA has offered to increase players’ salaries during recent collective bargaining agreement talks for a new deal
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Just a day after the WNBA and the Women’s National Basketball Association Players Association (WNBPA) extended the collective bargaining agreement (CBA) to continue talks on a new deal, the league increased the average and maximum player salaries.
According to USA Today Sports, after the WNBA proposed a minimum salary starting at more than $220,000, averaging $460,000, with a maximum of more than $1.1 million, the league upped the ante by offering a little more by recommending more than $225,000, raising the average salary to more than $500,000, with a cap of $1.2 million. The latest offer was made after the union made it clear it wasn’t substantial.
An unknown source revealed the latest information on the contract negotiations.
This comes shortly after the extended CBA, which was scheduled to end Nov. 30 (the original contract was supposed to end Oct. 31), was extended again until Jan. 9, 2026, giving both sides more time to reach a mutual agreement. The WNBA has never had a work stoppage since its debut in 1996.
With the latest proposal, the salary cap will also rise to $5 million per team per season, a significant increase from this past season’s $1.5 million cap. That number would reportedly increase over the life of the CBA, tied directly to annual revenue growth.
The WNBPA has been pushing for increased revenue sharing and a pay structure similar to the NBA’s. The players receive 9.3% of their income from the league, while their male counterparts received 44.74% in 2025.
With the minimum salary being $66,079 last season, the supermax was worth $249,244. That meant that only five WNBA players made more than $225,000 last season: Kelsey Mitchell ($269,244), Arike Ogunbowale ($249,032), Jewell Loyd ($249,032), Kahleah Copper ($248,134), and Gabby Williams ($225,000).
Before the recent CBA was signed in 2020, the league and union had agreed to a 60-day extension in 2019, shortly before the previous CBA was set to expire on Oct. 31, 2019. They finally negotiated a new deal on Jan. 14, 2020, and made it official three days later on Jan. 17, 2020.