2025 WNBA Thread

[JWags85]

The players' union did a great job rejecting several much-poorer offers. They knew they had leverage: While they could make good money away from the WNBA - and many players do - WNBA owners couldn't make a cent on league operations without the players. Indeed, they would lose money every day the league wasn't in session.

Well done by the players, and well deserved.

Lets pump the brakes a bit.  There was always going to be a huge jump in compensation when this deal expired, purely due to the very profitable and positive changes in the TV revenue the league was bringing in.  So the floor for what was going to be agreed upon rose notably before anything began.  That being said, 6 months ago the WNBA's proposal was a $1.1MM max, a a $225K minimum, and a cap around $6MM.  Those were the terms when the previous deal expired that some of the players union were openly calling insulting and a slap in the face to the media.  At that point, the players union was proposing a cap just under $10MM and, I believe, maxes around $2MM.  So in the last 6 months they came to an agreement far closer to the WNBA's preference than the union.

Honestly, the best thing for the negotiations and the WNBA's players union/league perception was the ramping up of the heart of the NBA season and impending March Madness.  The stances, statements, and behavior of the player union leadership was detached from reality, making things overly personal, and most disturbingly, the older/twilight of their career players union leadership was very clearly prioritizing near term salary increases/compensation over the long term growth of the salaries and league growth (as it relates to being beneficial to the players).

The players always had the leverage as a work stoppage would be legitimately fatal for the league.  Its not like a more established league where sides could dig themselves in and ride out a strike/stoppage.  Losing all, or even part, of a W season would destroy all momentum they gained and very possibly end the league.

Regardless, its a great result for the players, both now and moving forward, and will hopefully continue the momentum the W has been building the last 2-3 seasons.  But to paint it as some great triumph of a shrewd and dogged players union is revisionist history as a result of an outcome that was good for the players.

FWIW, I think Engelbert stinks as a commissioner and has been bumbling around for awhile while the league succeeds in spite of her, so both sides were flailing in their own way throughout the process.

[WhiteTrash]

You make a fair point. I just think people hear that - and I'm not saying this was your intent - and take it as a swipe against the WNBA from the "nobody cares about women's sports" crowd.
I have no idea whether the WNBA is profitable yet - and professional sports leagues have made crying poor into an art form - but the league has seen impressive growth in recent years, as evidenced by this new deal.

When I said "onward and upward", I meant it. When owners, investors, players and fans work together, great things happen as we are witnessing.

[MU82]

Lets pump the brakes a bit.  There was always going to be a huge jump in compensation when this deal expired, purely due to the very profitable and positive changes in the TV revenue the league was bringing in.  So the floor for what was going to be agreed upon rose notably before anything began.  That being said, 6 months ago the WNBA's proposal was a $1.1MM max, a a $225K minimum, and a cap around $6MM.  Those were the terms when the previous deal expired that some of the players union were openly calling insulting and a slap in the face to the media.  At that point, the players union was proposing a cap just under $10MM and, I believe, maxes around $2MM.  So in the last 6 months they came to an agreement far closer to the WNBA's preference than the union.

Honestly, the best thing for the negotiations and the WNBA's players union/league perception was the ramping up of the heart of the NBA season and impending March Madness.  The stances, statements, and behavior of the player union leadership was detached from reality, making things overly personal, and most disturbingly, the older/twilight of their career players union leadership was very clearly prioritizing near term salary increases/compensation over the long term growth of the salaries and league growth (as it relates to being beneficial to the players).

The players always had the leverage as a work stoppage would be legitimately fatal for the league.  Its not like a more established league where sides could dig themselves in and ride out a strike/stoppage.  Losing all, or even part, of a W season would destroy all momentum they gained and very possibly end the league.

Regardless, its a great result for the players, both now and moving forward, and will hopefully continue the momentum the W has been building the last 2-3 seasons.  But to paint it as some great triumph of a shrewd and dogged players union is revisionist history as a result of an outcome that was good for the players.

FWIW, I think Engelbert stinks as a commissioner and has been bumbling around for awhile while the league succeeds in spite of her, so both sides were flailing in their own way throughout the process.

I think we agree?

[Pakuni]

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