The WNBA players union is officially opting out of the current collective bargaining agreement.
The Women’s National Basketball Players Association voted to opt out of the current CBA with the league on Monday. The announcement, which came just one day after the New York Liberty beat the Minnesota Lynx in the WNBA Finals, is something that had long been expected.
The WNBPA Board of Player Representatives and WNBPA Executive Committee have decided to opt out of the 2020 WNBA/WNBPA CBA on behalf of the collective.
It's Business.#BetOnWomen
🎥:@Tubi
Seattle Storm (YouTube) pic.twitter.com/zZoOdfMoDE— WNBPA (@TheWNBPA) October 21, 2024
"The players made the decision to opt out of the last CBA to realign the business and save the league from its own limitations," WNBPA executive director Terri Jackson said.
The union and the league had until Nov. 1 to opt out of the current deal, which was first agreed to ahead of the 2020 season and is set to expire in 2027. This does not mean that the league will enter a lockout immediately, however, as the current CBA will still be in effect next season. The two sides now have a year to come to an agreement. If that is not reached, a work stoppage could start after the 2025 campaign.
“With the historic 2024 WNBA season now in the books, we look forward to working together with the players and the WNBPA on a new CBA that is fair for all and lays the foundation for growth and success for years to come,” commissioner Cathy Engelbert said in a statement on Monday afternoon.
The decision to opt out came after a record year for the WNBA in both viewership and attendance. The league entered an 11-year media rights deal with Disney, Amazon Prime and NBC for $200 million a season earlier this summer, too. That deal will start in 2026. The current media deal is valued at about $60 million a season.
There are a number of things that players have advocated for in the new CBA, including increased player salaries, retirement benefits, pregnancy and family planning benefits, implementing a new consistent minimum professional standards across the board and introducing an "equity-based" economic model to the league.
Here's what Terri Jackson, WNBPA executive director, said: "The players made the decision to opt out of the last CBA to realign the business and save the league from its own limitations."
The WNBPA put out its priorities in the next CBA: https://t.co/Dbmg7SlBQg pic.twitter.com/XyFH51Fsvy
— Mike Vorkunov (@MikeVorkunov) October 21, 2024
“This is going to be an opportunity to listen to one another and take this league to the next level for generations to come,” Engelbert said ahead of Game 1 of the WNBA Finals when asked about the CBA negotiations, via The Associated Press. “I look forward to building the future of the league and sitting down with the players. Whether they opt out, not opt out.
“I suspect that given the transformation of the league that we’ve been working so hard on, building this long-term economic model, we’ve already returned to the players through charter, through increasing playoff bonuses a couple years ago by over 50%. So we’ll continue to do that, and when we get to the bargaining table we’ll continue to talk about the issues that are most important to the players.”
This post will be updated with more information shortly.