Despite Friday’s deadline approaching, neither the WNBA nor the Women’s National Basketball Players Association has offered an extension of the collective bargaining agreement to the other party as of Thursday morning, sources with knowledge of the talks told The Athletic.
Though it remains possible that the two sides could agree to extend the deadline in negotiations for the third time, the lack of progress on another extension indicates the sides appear to be heading toward either a status quo period, where working conditions remain the same, or a work stoppage.
As of Wednesday night, the WNBPA was still awaiting a league counterproposal to what it submitted around two weeks ago amid ongoing meetings, sources said.
Several scenarios could unfold if neither a deal nor an extension is reached. In a status quo period, players could still enter team facilities and receive medical benefits. The players could also strike.
In mid-December, the WNBPA authorized its executive committee to call for a strike “when necessary,” making it easier for the union to trigger a stoppage. The union said 93 percent of players participated in the vote, and 98 percent voted “yes.”
The league could also choose to lock out players, although a source with knowledge of the negotiations said the league has no plans to do so.
The WNBA and the union have agreed to two extensions since the original Oct. 31 deadline. Several key differences persist in the negotiations.
Though both sides are aligned on increasing player compensation (the current maximum salary is around $250,000), they differ on what a new salary system should be. Their respective proposals also share distinctly different amounts of total league and team revenue. A recent league proposal allocated less than 15 percent of total league and team revenue to players.
However, maximum player compensation would exceed $1.3 million in the first year of the deal and climb to nearly $2 million over the life of the agreement. Average compensation is expected to be more than $530,000 in the first year of the league proposal, climbing to more than $750,000, sources said, as it prioritizes creating a viable business model for the present and future.
Under the union’s proposal, players would receive roughly 30 percent of total league and team revenue over the course of the agreement. The union’s proposed system would result in a salary cap of around $10 million, sources said.
The league and union also have divergent views about how expansion fees should be factored into revenue calculations. The league sees them as transactions that result in zero net revenue, while the union is adamant that they should be included in any revenue calculations, sources said.
The league and union are also negotiating other topics, including the number of games per season, facility standards, various salary exceptions and retirement benefits.
The WNBA has never missed games because of a strike or work stoppage in its nearly 30-year history.