Something strange is happening in women’s basketball right now. The WNBA finals just took place, but nobody’s really watching. Instead, everyone’s focused on money. Lots of money. The league just offered players a deal that would triple their salaries overnight. Top players could make $850,000 instead of $249,000. Veterans would earn $300,000 instead of $78,831. These are life-changing numbers. But the players said no. They want more. Much more. This situation highlights the ongoing WNBA salary negotiations concerning the CBA (Collective Bargaining Agreement). The WNBA salary negotiations CBA is currently the central focus of many discussions.
The Bandano podcast dove deep into this mess, and the host didn’t hold back. His message to NBA Commissioner Adam Silver was simple. Just give them what they want before this turns into a PR nightmare. Team valuations are exploding. The Connecticut Sun just got offers for $300 million. New money is pouring in from everywhere. Yet somehow, tripling player salaries isn’t enough to close this deal. Welcome to the WNBA’s pivotal moment.
From $249K to $850K: Why Players Still Say No
The proposed numbers sound incredible on paper. The supermax would jump from $249,000 to approximately $850,000 in the first year of the WNBA salary negotiations CBA. That’s a 3.4x increase. Do the math. A player making a quarter million would suddenly earn close to a million. The veteran minimum tells the same story. Currently at $78,831, it would shoot up to around $300,000. Over 3.8 times more money for experienced players.
Team salary caps would expand too. The 2025 cap sat at $1.5 million per team. That was already scheduled for a small bump in 2026. The new proposal blows those numbers out of the water. More cap space means teams can spend more. Players get bigger checks. Everyone wins, right? Not quite.
Andy Costable wrote about how this standoff has completely dominated the finals. Asia Wilson is putting on a clinic for the Las Vegas Aces, but her performance is background noise. The real story is the negotiation room. Players opted out of the existing CBA because they saw an opportunity. The league’s popularity exploded. Viewership numbers went through the roof. Sponsorship deals multiplied. For the first time in 25 years, the WNBA felt mainstream. WNBA salary negotiations CBA talks became front and center in the midst of this new attention.
Mercury guard Alyssa Thomas summed up the frustration perfectly. For years, league officials told players the WNBA was bleeding money. Everyone needed to be patient. Growth takes time. Then suddenly, valuations started exploding. New investors appeared out of nowhere. The story changed. If the money was always this close, why weren’t players getting their share earlier?
“Unless Adam Silver steps in and says, ‘Just give these ladies what they want.’ I don’t care. Just do it. It’s going to look bad on the NBA if the WNBA folds. It’s going to look bad on our league if the WNBA goes through a lockout,” the Bandano podcast host stated emphatically.
The Valuation Explosion Nobody Saw Coming
Let’s talk about what really changed the game. Team values went absolutely bonkers. Mark Davis purchased the Las Vegas Aces for $2 million not that long ago. Today, the Connecticut Sun has multiple offers on the table exceeding $300 million. Read that again. A team in a small market just got valued at 300 times what the Aces sold for. Other franchises are trading hands for $200 million plus. This isn’t gradual growth. This is a rocket ship.
In 2022, Commissioner Engelbert orchestrated a $75 million capital raise. She sold 16% of the WNBA to outside investors. The math implied the entire league was worth $465 million. Everyone immediately knew that was too low. Way too low. But the deal was done. Now that 16% stake sits in the hands of investors who get a say in CBA negotiations.
The ownership structure creates a messy situation. NBA team owners control 42% of the WNBA. Individual WNBA franchise owners control another 42%. The capital raise investors own the remaining 16%. That’s three different groups with three different agendas. Players want 50% of all revenue. But getting everyone on the same page? Nearly impossible. Ongoing WNBA salary negotiations CBA discussions add complexity to the situation.
The podcast host made a controversial point that cut through all the noise. Players aren’t entitled to expansion fees or sale profits. When an owner sells their team for $300 million, that money goes to the owner. Not the players. That’s standard business practice across every sport. But players counter with their own logic. We are the product. Without us, there are no games. Without games, those franchises are worthless.
There’s another factor driving this urgency. Caitlin Clark. The rookie sensation brought unprecedented mainstream attention to the WNBA. Casual sports fans who never watched women’s basketball tuned in to see her play. Ticket sales spiked. Merchandise flew off shelves. Suddenly, owners could see a path to real profitability. But that created a dilemma. Do they pay up now to capitalize on this momentum? Or do they hold firm and risk losing everything in a lockout?
