Why WNBA players are wearing ‘pay us what you owe us’ shirts
WNBA players, Indianapolis sent a message to the league in front of All-Star matches on Saturday: “Pay us that you owe us.”
All the players in Team Clark and Team Collier wore a shirt with a message while warming up in front of an exhausted crowd 16,000 participants And millions of viewers at home.
The declaration arrived days later that more than 40 players came together with WNBA and could not reach a new collective bargaining agreement. In October, the players chose their latest CBAs and negotiate for a better revenue sharing model, higher salaries, better benefits and a softer salary limit.
The players were not satisfied with the progress in the negotiations as they moved towards the end of October. Related press reports.
Knowing that All-Star game was one of the last high-profile events that all players would be in one place before the end of the normal season in September, they decided to wear their shirts on Saturday morning.
WNBA’s fast growth fuels pay negotiations
An important point in the negotiations between WNBA players and league is salary structure and income sharing agreements.
The league wants to pay according to a fixed percentage, but the players “a better sharing where our salaries grow with work, not just a fixed percentage over time” According to Nkeka OgwumikeWomen’s National Basketball Players Association Workers’ Union and the President of Seattle Storm.
Currently Wnba Players Tv gets 9.3% of league revenues, including TV agreements, tickets and goods sales, Marketwatch reports. In contrast, NBA revenues are roughly divided between players and owners, and players receive 49% to 51% of basketball revenue.
Wnba a new in recent years 2.2 billion dollar media agreement and expansion fees 250 million dollars. Recently, Cleveland has given three new expansion teams to Detroit and Philadelphia, which will grow to 18 teams in the next five years.
You had a league 2024 season registration With historical audiences, Indiana Fever’s participation and sales of goods under the leadership of Fandom around the stars like Caitlin Clark.
In contrast, players want them a salary structure “[larger] Piece we help to create, “Minnesota Lynx Forward and 2025 CNBC Changemaker Napheesa Collier It was said to press after the match.
“We want to ensure that this fair share progresses, especially when we see that all investments have entered and we want our salaries to be reflected in a logical structure for us.” He said.
WNBA salaries are currently League minimum Maximum $ 249.244 up to $ 66.079. The average WNBA base salary is $ 102.249. Spotrac data.
. League minimum Now in the NBA, 1.27 million dollars and average salary more than $ 13 million Data from sports reference.
Some say it is not exactly fair to compare the wage structure between men and women’s leagues. NBA has been more than 75 years, there is a normal season of six months WNBA is playing billions of dollars in corporate sponsorships in season 29 and four months of the year. CNBC reported that the NBA is roughly around $ 200 million, while WNBA earns approximately 13 billion dollars.
For others, WNBA’s salary structure said, “It is not clear for its players.” He founded and operated Excel Sports Management, representing more than 500 customers, including Schwartz, Collier, Clark, Tiger Woods and Peyton Manning.
“Wnba should understand that,” Schwartz CBA negotiations and player salaries, otherwise many athletes Play abroad To support league revenues. In addition, as well as its customer Collier’s unrivaled, they can start as the highest average player salary of any professional women’s sports league, such as 3 -onset women’s basketball league, which offers an equality of player and $ 220,000 salary.
Where the negotiations stop
WNBA commissioner Cathy Engelbert, the last CBA talks “constructive” and ongoing, all-Star in front of the game spoke with pressures.
Orum I want the players very much, ”he said. “I’m still optimistic because we’re going to do something that will be a transformationist, and we’ll talk about how wonderful everything is in all-Star next year. Obviously, there’s a lot of work on both sides to get there.”
When the last CBA was reached, Engelbert said, “We were in a very different place than we were in 2025 in 2020.” He said. “I think you will see that the income sharing is much more profitable when we return forward because we are in a better place, frankly.”
WNBA players meeting “Abducted opportunity“That’s why Saturday warming shirts.
The second half of the WNBA season continues on Tuesday, and the players in the All-Star game say they don’t decide whether they will wear shirts in their own teams in the coming weeks. AP reports.
Some players, including All-Stars Collier and Angel Reese, say they can go on stage Strike If a new CBA cannot be reached until October.
WNBA did not respond to the request for comments on CNBC according to the time to publish.
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