WNBA union reportedly unmoved by league's CBA proposal

With 10 days remaining until the expiration of the WNBA CBA, the league's latest proposal apparently isn't impressing the players.

Per ESPN's Alexa Philippou, the WNBPA does not see a proposal that includes a maximum salary of around $1.1 million and a minimum salary of around $220,000 as something that moves negotiations forward.

The offer, on its face, represented a significant jump from the current CBA, where the supermax was $249,244 and the minimum was $66,079. However, the union reportedly feels the system would not sufficiently grow with a business where television and other revenues have been exploding in recent years.

The players' preferred model reportedly remains something similar to what the NBA has, where the league's salary cap is a fixed portion of its basketball-related income (44.74% in 2025). If you want a sense of how wide that makes the current gulf, consider that the WNBA is about to start bringing in $200 million per year in television revenue alone.

Meanwhile, that $1.1 million figure reportedly comes with a catch.

The WNBA's proposed $1.1 million maximum salary is apparently more of a stretch goal

The following two statements are apparently true:

a) The WNBA's proposal would make it possible for players to earn up to $1.1 million.

b) Not a single WNBA player will receive a $1.1 million contract in 2026.

As Front Office Sport's Annie Costabile broke down, that $1.1 million is actually a combination of a max salary still in the six-figures and some limited revenue sharing money, which was in the current CBA:

Multiple sources familiar with the league’s labor negotiations said that the numbers are misleading. While salaries can reach a maximum of more than $1.1 million in the league’s offer, the base supermax contract would still pay between $800,000 and $850,000 annually—as was the case in early October. The $1.1 million figure represents combined earnings from a base salary and additional potential revenue sharing, the league sources said. Under the league’s offer, no player would sign a contract in 2026 with a base salary of $1.1 million.

A supermax contract of $800,000 would still represent a more than three-fold jump from the previous supermax, but that $1.1 million figure got attention for a reason.

That might be part of why the players aren't particularly moved by what the WNBA just put on the table. And now we see if either side changes course before the stand-off starts bleeding into 2026.