WNBA CBA expected to raise pay for other women’s sports leagues

After 17 months, the WNBA has agreed to the terms of a new collective bargaining agreement and players will be paid more than in any other American women’s professional sports league.

It’s the latest in a trend to increase fairness for female athletes.

• In 2022, the U.S. women’s soccer team won a $24 million settlement with US Soccer after players fell out earning significantly less than the worst-performing men’s team.
• Then the Professional Women’s Hockey League was born in 2023 following the defection of many players from the National Women’s Hockey League to form the Professional Women’s Hockey Players Assn., then merge with the Premier Hockey Federation until a historic negotiation agreement.
• The National Women’s Soccer League announced a new CBA in the summer of 2024 that planned to give players the power to decide where they are traded and abolish expansion and collegiate drafts.

This momentum put considerable pressure on the WNBA negotiations. Could players set a new benchmark for future contract negotiations in women’s professional sports leagues?

The Sky’s Angel Reese and the Fever’s Caitlin Clark shake hands before a game at Gainbridge Fieldhouse on May 17.

(Grégory Shamus / Getty Images)

The WNBA’s CBA has been a hot spot due to the rise in popularity of support for women’s sports, with players such as Caitlin Clark and Angel Reese becoming household names. Last season, the WNBA generated enough revenue to trigger revenue sharing for the first time and this season marks the start of the new 11-year, $2.2 billion media rights deal.

Unlike the NBA, where players receive about 50% of league revenue before expenses, the WNBA’s first revenue share didn’t take effect until after the league reached a benchmark determined by a revenue goal formula, which had been difficult to achieve since the deal began with the COVID 2020 season played in front of empty stands.

The WNBA broke its single-season attendance record in 2025. As the league’s interest grew, so did tensions between the league and the players’ union.

Many saw this round of bargaining as an opportunity to take advantage of increased visibility, and in many ways the union did just that. Players are going to be paid a lot more and they have won in terms of revenue sharing, earning 20% ​​of league revenue before expenses – a significant jump from the previous share of 9%.

The average player salary before revenue sharing payments will be approximately $584,000.

But was it as much as they should have gotten?

Tamika Tremaglio, former NBPA executive director and advisor to the WNBPA during the 2020 CBA negotiations, said observers were less concerned about the impending start of training camps on April 19 and more focused on whether negotiations would end with a stable agreement that would last for the life of the deal as market conditions evolve. The salary increase is still celebrated, but the two sides agreeing to a new revenue sharing model was a significant milestone for the players.

“The real story is revenue share,” Tremaglio said. “Ultimately, that’s what will determine the future.”

It will take months, if not years, to fully understand the consequences of the new agreement. Free agents will be able to start signing with teams in April, and with 80% of players eligible for free agency, the numbers will be higher than ever.

A’ja Wilson and her Las Vegas Aces teammates celebrate while holding the 2025 WNBA Championship trophy.

(Chris Coduto/Getty Images)

This could also affect the talent coming into the league.

“More European players could come into the league,” a WNBA team consultant not authorized to speak about the league told the Times publicly. “Now that the money is better, it could eliminate several college players in the draft.”

Some WNBA-level players remained in Europe due to restrictive priority rules that required players to participate in all WNBA practices and games, even if they conflicted with international league obligations. Many WNBA players participate in international leagues during the offseason and prefer to continue playing in lucrative foreign leagues when there is an overlap with the WNBA season.

Although the new rules of 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.

The general consensus among those operating within the WNBA is relief that a deal is in place.

“It’s huge,” a player agent told the Times. “They have made great progress. It’s important for women’s basketball.

Sparks players Dearica Hamby, Rickea Jackson, Azura Stevens, Kelsey Plum and Julie Allemand speak during a game against the New York Liberty at Crypto.com Arena on August 12.

(Katelyn Mulcahy/Getty Images)

“Any time both sides don’t get everything they want,” the agent added, “it’s a good deal.”

This agent also noted that this collective bargaining agreement would set a precedent for future negotiations to continue to increase revenue sharing if the league continues to make more money.

Under the new collective bargaining agreement, the 20 percent revenue share is tied to league gross revenue, a figure significantly different from net revenue, which is calculated after all expenses are taken into account. Players were fighting for a percentage of gross revenue, even though it is a lower percentage than the net revenue offered by the league because it is guaranteed.

The NBA first reached 53% of gross revenue in its CBA in 1983 and has remained around that figure ever since.

“If it was net, you would have all these other expenses and you would kind of lose control of the actual spending,” Tremaglio said. “You have no control over the situation of the players. But now you don’t even have to look at the minute details of auditing each expense item. That’s what makes such a difference.”

More details on the CBA, including player housing, expansion draft format and roster spots, will become clearer as the deal is ratified.

For now, although the 20% revenue share is lower than the 40% originally proposed by players, the deal represents a significant and stable increase in player compensation.

“This will impact women’s sports globally, not just basketball,” Tremaglio said. “It will impact everything, football, everything.”