WNBA gives latest response to players union in CBA…
The WNBA on Friday formally responded to the players union’s collective bargaining settlement proposal Friday — three days after blasting the Women’s National Basketball Players Association’s latest offer as “unrealistic.”
As CBA negotiations reached the eleventh hour and threatened to delay the start of the 2026 WNBA season, the league made only a few minor adjustments relating to housing and retirement advantages.
The WNBA has agreed to offer housing for all players in 2026, according to a number of sources with data of the negotiation.
WNBA commissioner Cathy Engelbert speaks to the media before Game 1 of the WNBA Finals collection with the Las Vegas Aces enjoying host to the Phoenix Mercury in the Michelob Ultra Arena at Mandalay Bay on Friday, Oct. 3, 2025, in Las Vegas. TNS
Starting in 2027, though, team-funded housing will only be supplied to choose teams of players.
The WNBA is offering studio flats for the 2 new developmental players throughout the lifetime of the settlement.
Meanwhile, players on minimal wage and those with zero years of service could be supplied one-bedroom flats through 2028.
Players who are traded midseason would get resort lodging for up to 30 days, sources said.
In comparability, NBA players who are traded midseason are reimbursed for the associated fee of a five-star resort room for up to 46 days, per the NBA CBA.
And, among other bills coated, players may be reimbursed for either rent or mortgage in their new metropolis for up to three months after the commerce.
After the players union made a vital soar in its revenue-share demand in the last proposal, with the WNBPA demanding an average of 27.5 p.c share in gross income, the WNBA’s offer stays comparatively unchanged.
The league made a slight change to how workforce bills are calculated, but a source told The Post that it wouldn’t have a vital impression on players’ salaries.
The WNBA is at the moment offering players a share in 70 p.c of internet income (outlined as income after bills). But players need a share tied to gross income, which is the quantity before bills.
Based on the WNBA’s projections, players would still obtain less than 15 p.c of gross income. The WNBA’s proposed 2026 wage cap stays at $5.65 million. That means there’s still roughly a 12.5 p.c hole in gross income share between the 2 events and a $3.85 million distinction in proposed wage caps.
The WNBA improved one side of retirement advantages, offering former players who performed eight or more seasons a recognition cost of $4,500 per yr of service, sources said.
The WNBA, however, didn’t interact in participant proposals relating to the season’s start date, the quantity of video games, the size of rookie scale contracts, reserved players, wage safety limits for groups, or reimbursements for mental health. The WNBA also didn’t reply to the WNBPA’s calls for relating to core designation and league prioritization.
The WNBA is scheduled to tip off its thirtieth season on May 8, but still wants to maintain two drafts and free company before camp opens April 19.
Breanna Stewart of the New York Liberty handles the ball against the Washington Mystics during a common season matchup at Barclays Center. Michelle Farsi/New York Post
Breanna Stewart, talking completely with The Post forward of Unrivaled’s March 2 debut at Barclays Center, said she hoped the WNBA and players union may take part in an “actual negotiation period” where the 2 sides “go back and forth about numbers and advantages and stuff like that and do that at a faster tempo than we’ve performed for the past however many months.
“It’s been exhausting physically and mentally,” Stewart continued. “But we want to make sure that we get the best possible CBA out of this and we negotiate as well as we can but we all know that time is not on our side anymore and I think that needs to be something that’s mutually seen in the entire room.”
Stewart said for the season to stay on schedule, a deal would need to be performed within the next two weeks.
Asked about her optimism Friday, before the league despatched its response, Stewart said, “Right now, I don’t know.”
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