Breadcrumb Trail Links
Sports
Basketball
Author of the article:
Associated Press
Associated Press
Doug Feinberg
Published Oct 22, 2025 • 3 minute read
WNBA commissioner Cathy Engelbert speaks prior to Game 1 of a WNBA basketball final playoff series between the Las Vegas Aces and the Phoenix Mercury, Friday, Oct. 3, 2025, in Las Vegas.
WNBA commissioner Cathy Engelbert speaks prior to Game 1 of a WNBA basketball final playoff series between the Las Vegas Aces and the Phoenix Mercury, Friday, Oct. 3, 2025, in Las Vegas. Photo by John Locher /AP
Article content
NEW YORK — Tension is rising in the ongoing labor battle between the WNBA and the union representing the players, with the existing collective bargaining agreement expiring next week and no new deal in sight.
Advertisement 2
Edmonton Sun
THIS CONTENT IS RESERVED FOR SUBSCRIBERS ONLY
Subscribe now to read the latest news in your city and across Canada.
Unlimited online access to articles from across Canada with one account.
Get exclusive access to the Edmonton Sun ePaper, an electronic replica of the print edition that you can share, download and comment on.
Enjoy insights and behind-the-scenes analysis from our award-winning journalists.
Support local journalists and the next generation of journalists.
Daily puzzles including the New York Times Crossword.
SUBSCRIBE TO UNLOCK MORE ARTICLES
Subscribe now to read the latest news in your city and across Canada.
Unlimited online access to articles from across Canada with one account.
Get exclusive access to the Edmonton Sun ePaper, an electronic replica of the print edition that you can share, download and comment on.
Enjoy insights and behind-the-scenes analysis from our award-winning journalists.
Support local journalists and the next generation of journalists.
Daily puzzles including the New York Times Crossword.
REGISTER / SIGN IN TO UNLOCK MORE ARTICLES
Create an account or sign in to continue with your reading experience.
Access articles from across Canada with one account.
Share your thoughts and join the conversation in the comments.
Enjoy additional articles per month.
Get email updates from your favourite authors.
THIS ARTICLE IS FREE TO READ REGISTER TO UNLOCK.
Create an account or sign in to continue with your reading experience.
Access articles from across Canada with one account
Share your thoughts and join the conversation in the comments
Enjoy additional articles per month
Get email updates from your favourite authors
Sign In or Create an Account
or
Article content
And the back-and-forth — with the sides taking shots at the other — ramped up quickly on Tuesday and Wednesday.
Article content
Article content
It started Tuesday morning when NBA Commissioner Adam Silver said he was confident a new deal would get done and that WNBA players would get significant raises. But one of his word choices _ when he answered a question about whether WNBA players merit a larger share of that league’s revenues — raised the ire of the union.
“Yes. I mean, I think share isn’t the right way to look at it because there’s so much more revenue in the NBA,” Silver said on NBC’s “Today” “show. “I think you should look at absolute numbers in terms of what they’re making, and they are going to get a big increase in this cycle of collective bargaining, and they deserve it.”
Edmonton Sun Headline News Banner
Edmonton Sun Headline News
Get the latest headlines, breaking news and columns.
By signing up you consent to receive the above newsletter from Postmedia Network Inc.
Thanks for signing up!
A welcome email is on its way. If you don't see it, please check your junk folder.
The next issue of Edmonton Sun Headline News will soon be in your inbox.
We encountered an issue signing you up. Please try again
Article content
Advertisement 3
Article content
Much of that might have sounded good — except to the Women’s National Basketball Players Association, which shot back Wednesday.
“What the league and teams are really trying to do is not only limit the cost of labor but also contain it through an artificial salary system that isn’t tied to the business the players are building in any real or meaningful way,” WNBPA executive director Terri Carmichael Jackson said in a statement. “You know it’s bad when the best they say they can do is more of the same: a fixed salary system and a separate revenue sharing plan that only includes a piece of the pie, and pays (the league) back first.”
And then the WNBA responded to that, saying it offered an uncapped revenue sharing model that is directly tied to the league’s performance.
Advertisement 4
Article content
“The comprehensive proposals we have made to the players include a revenue sharing component that would result in the players’ compensation increasing as league revenue increases _ without any cap on the upside,” the league said in a statement. “It is frustrating and counterproductive for the union to be making misrepresentations about our proposals while also accusing the league of engaging in delay.”
The sides have had meetings over the past few weeks, including once in New York last Thursday according to a person familiar with the situation. The person spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because details about the meeting were not publicly discussed.
They are trying to get a deal done before the Oct. 31 deadline. The sides could always choose to extend negotiations, a tactic used the last time the CBA was negotiated in 2019.
Advertisement 5
Article content
The players exercised their right to opt out of the current CBA last year with hopes of getting, among other things, increased revenue sharing, higher salaries, improved benefits and a softer salary cap.
The WNBA’s offers to this point have clearly not been to the players’ liking, although it is unclear how far apart the sides are in terms of salary parameters. WNBA Commissioner Cathy Engelbert said at this year’s WNBA Finals that the league — like the players _ wants a “transformative deal” done with significant increases to salary and benefits.
Tensions already were heightened in the negotiations after union vice president Napheesa Collier criticized the commissioner in a blistering assessment in her exit interview after her Minnesota team was eliminated from the playoffs.
Read More
[FILE - New York Liberty Head Coach Sandy Brondello looks on as her team plays against the Phoenix Mercury during the second half of Game 1 in the first round of the WNBA basketball playoffs Sept. 14, 2025, in Phoenix.
Sandy Brondello to become first coach of Toronto Tempo, AP source says](https://torontosun.com/sports/basketball/sandy-brondello-to-become-first-coach-of-toronto-tempo-ap-source-says)
2. [Phoenix Mercury forward Satou Sabally and Las Vegas Aces centre Megan Gustafson, right, battle for a loose ball during the first half in Game 1 of a WNBA basketball final playoff series Friday, Oct. 3, 2025, in Las Vegas.
WNBA Finals draw most viewers for Game 1 since inaugural season](https://torontosun.com/sports/basketball/wnba-finals-draw-most-viewers-for-game-1-since-inaugural-season)
Article content
Share this article in your social network
Comments