{"id":668555,"date":"2026-03-20T06:35:17","date_gmt":"2026-03-20T06:35:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/668555\/"},"modified":"2026-03-20T06:35:17","modified_gmt":"2026-03-20T06:35:17","slug":"wnba-cba-expected-to-raise-pay-for-other-womens-sports-leagues","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/668555\/","title":{"rendered":"WNBA CBA expected to raise pay for other women&#8217;s sports leagues"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>After 17 months, <a class=\"link\" href=\"https:\/\/www.latimes.com\/sports\/sparks\/story\/2026-03-18\/wnba-players-reach-labor-deal-heres-what-needs-to-happen-next\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">the WNBA has agreed to terms on a new collective bargaining agreement<\/a> and players will be paid more than in any other professional American women\u2019s sports league. <\/p>\n<p>It is the latest in a trend of increasing equity for women athletes.<\/p>\n<ul class=\"rte2-style-ul\">\n<li>In 2022, the <a class=\"link\" href=\"https:\/\/www.latimes.com\/sports\/story\/2022-02-22\/uswnt-settle-lawsuit-24-million\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">U.S. women\u2019s soccer team won a $24-million settlement<\/a> with U.S. Soccer after players disputed making significantly less than the less successful men\u2019s team. <\/li>\n<li>Then the Professional Women\u2019s Hockey League was born in 2023 following many players defecting from the National Women\u2019s Hockey League to form the Professional Women\u2019s Hockey Players Assn., then merging with the Premier Hockey Federation until a historic bargaining agreement. <\/li>\n<li>The National Women\u2019s Soccer League announced a new CBA in the summer of 2024 that included giving players agency on where they are traded and abolishing expansion and collegiate drafts.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>That momentum put considerable pressure on WNBA negotiations. Could the players set a new benchmark for future contract negotiations across women\u2019s pro sports leagues? <\/p>\n<p>            <img class=\"image\" alt=\"The Sky's Angel Reese and the Fever's Caitlin Clark shake hands before a game at Gainbridge Fieldhouse on May 17.\"   width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" src=\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/1773988514_22_.jpeg\" decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\"\/>         <\/p>\n<p>The Sky\u2019s Angel Reese and the Fever\u2019s Caitlin Clark shake hands before a game at Gainbridge Fieldhouse on May 17.<\/p>\n<p>(Gregory Shamus \/ Getty Images)<\/p>\n<p>The WNBA\u2019s CBA was a flashpoint because of the boom in popularity in supporting women\u2019s sports, with players such as Caitlin Clark and Angel Reese becoming household names. Last season, the WNBA made enough revenue to trigger revenue-sharing for the first time and this season marks the start the league\u2019s new 11-year, $2.2-billion media rights deal.<\/p>\n<p>Unlike in the NBA, where players get around 50% of the league\u2019s revenue before expenses, the WNBA\u2019s first revenue-sharing kicked in only after the league hit a benchmark determined by a formula of revenue targets, which had been difficult to achieve since the start of the deal was the 2020 COVID season played in front of empty stands.<\/p>\n<p>The WNBA broke its single-season attendance record in 2025. As league interest grew, so did the tension between the league and the players\u2019 union.<\/p>\n<p>Many viewed this negotiating cycle as an opportunity to pounce on the increased visibility, and in a lot of ways, the union did. Players are going to be paid significantly more and they got a win in revenue sharing, earning 20% of the league\u2019s revenue before expenses \u2014 a big jump from the previous 9% share.<\/p>\n<p>The average player salary before revenue-share payments will be around $584,000.<\/p>\n<p>But was it as much as they should have gotten?<\/p>\n<p>Tamika Tremaglio, former NBPA executive director and advisor to the WNBPA during the 2020 CBA negotiations, said observers were less concerned about the start of training camps looming on April 19 and more focused on whether negotiations would end with a stable deal that would hold for the length of the agreement as market conditions evolve. Increased salaries are always celebrated, but both sides agreeing to a new revenue sharing model was a consequential step forward for players. <\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe real story is the revenue share,\u201d Tremaglio said. \u201cAt the end of the day, that\u2019s what is going to drive the future.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The fallout from the new deal will take months or years to fully understand. Free agents will be able to begin signing with teams in April, and since 80% of the players are eligible for free agency, there will be higher figures being floated around than ever.<\/p>\n<p>            <img class=\"image\" alt=\"A'ja Wilson and her Las Vegas Aces teammates celebrate while holding the 2025 WNBA championship trophy. \"   width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" src=\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/1773988516_717_.jpeg\" decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\"\/>         <\/p>\n<p>A\u2019ja Wilson and her Las Vegas Aces teammates celebrate while holding the 2025 WNBA championship trophy.<\/p>\n<p>(Chris Coduto \/ Getty Images)<\/p>\n<p>That might affect what talent comes to the league, too.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cMore European players might come into the league,\u201d a WNBA team consultant not authorized to speak about the league publicly told The Times. \u201cNow that the money is better, that might knock out several college players in the draft.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>There are some WNBA-level players who have stayed in Europe due to restrictive prioritization rules that force players to participate in all WNBA practices and games even if they conflicted with international league obligations. Many WNBA players compete in international leagues during the offseason and prefer the option to keep playing in lucrative foreign leagues if there is an overlap with the WNBA season.<\/p>\n<p>While the new rules for international play in the WNBA CBA are not yet clear, compensation changes could open the door for more players to choose to prioritize the league.<\/p>\n<p>The general consensus among people operating within the WNBA is relief that a deal is in place.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt\u2019s huge,\u201d one player agent told The Times. \u201cThey made big strides. This is important for women\u2019s basketball.<\/p>\n<p>            <img class=\"image\" alt=\"Sparks players Dearica Hamby, Rickea Jackson, Azura Stevens, Kelsey Plum and Julie Allemand talk during a game.\"   width=\"2000\" height=\"1334\" src=\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/1773988517_603_.jpeg\" decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\"\/>         <\/p>\n<p>Sparks players Dearica Hamby, Rickea Jackson, Azura Stevens, Kelsey Plum and Julie Allemand talk during a game against the New York Liberty at Crypto.com Arena on Aug. 12.<\/p>\n<p>(Katelyn Mulcahy \/ Getty Images)<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAnytime both sides don\u2019t get everything they want,\u201d the agent added, \u201cthat\u2019s a good deal.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>That agent also noted that this CBA will set the precedent for the next negotiations to continue to raise the revenue-sharing if the league continues to make more money.<\/p>\n<p>Under the new CBA, the 20% revenue-sharing is tied to the league\u2019s gross revenue, a significantly different number than the net revenue, which is calculated after all expenses are taken into account. The players were fighting for a percentage of the gross revenue, even if it is a smaller percentage than the net revenue the league offered because it is guaranteed.<\/p>\n<p>The NBA first reached 53% of gross revenue in their CBA in 1983 and has stayed around that number ever since.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIf it was net, you\u2019d have all these other expenses and you sort of lose control of the actual expenses,\u201d Tremaglio said. \u201cYou have no control from the perspective of where the players are. But now, you don\u2019t even have to go look at the minutia of auditing every single expense line item. That\u2019s what makes such a difference.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>More details around the CBA, including player housing, expansion draft format and roster spots, will become clearer as the deal reaches ratification.<\/p>\n<p>For now, even if 20% revenue sharing is less than the 40% the players first proposed, the deal represents a significant, stable increase in player compensation.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThis will impact women\u2019s sport globally, not just the game of basketball,\u201d Tremaglio said. \u201cThis will impact everything, soccer, everything.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"After 17 months, the WNBA has agreed to terms on a new collective bargaining agreement and players will&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":668556,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_share_on_mastodon":"0"},"categories":[5123],"tags":[1582,276,3853,50898,31301,220054,282452,2961,224,5337,282456,9323,4143,282457,282454,22799,282455,282453,15742,171740],"class_list":["post-668555","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-los-angeles","tag-ca","tag-california","tag-deal","tag-expense","tag-free-agent","tag-gross-revenue","tag-hockey-league","tag-la","tag-los-angeles","tag-losangeles","tag-new-benchmark","tag-player","tag-revenue","tag-soccer-team","tag-sport-league","tag-start","tag-tamika-tremaglio","tag-u-s-woman","tag-union","tag-wnba-cba"],"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@us\/116260118706621755","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/668555","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=668555"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/668555\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/668556"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=668555"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=668555"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=668555"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}