From Momentum to Structure: How the WNBA’s Growth Is Forcing a New CBA
- Nathan Yeh
- Feb 4
- 5 min read
Over the past few years, the WNBA has entered a period of rapid growth, marked by rising viewership, stronger attendance (up ~48 % from 2023), expansion announcements (new teams in Portland, Toronto, Cleveland, Detroit, and Philadelphia), and new long-term media and sponsorship deals announced in 2023 and 2024. Against that backdrop, players took a decisive step in October 2024, when the WNBPA formally opted out of the league’s existing collective bargaining agreement. The move reflected a belief that the league’s economic and structural framework no longer aligned with its current momentum or future potential.
Since then, negotiations have proceeded on an accelerated timeline. Although the CBA was originally set to expire after the 2025 season, talks extended through late 2025 with a series of short-term extensions to keep discussions ongoing. When no agreement was reached by year’s end, the league and union entered a “status quo” period, pausing certain offseason processes while negotiations continue. As the calendar turns toward 2026, the WNBA finds itself balancing strong business momentum with labor uncertainty, even as both sides signal a desire to reach an agreement that reflects where the league has been and where it believes it is headed.
The players’ perspective: The WNBA has rapidly matured from a niche league into a mainstream, high-growth business, and the players who create that value deserve a modern, revenue-linked share of the upside. Audience engagement, sponsorship dollars, franchise values, and media interest all show the league is no longer a small, experimental product.
In 2024, the WNBA reached a record audience with more than 54 million unique viewers and set records for digital consumption and merchandise sales. Attendance and fan demand also jumped sharply in 2024 (with league attendance reaching multi-decade highs), driven in part by young breakout players who have become national commercial draws.
Brands are following this attention: team sponsorship revenue totaled about $76 million in 2024 across 531 deals, a ~52% increase in deal volume since 2022. With each franchise averaging 44 partnerships, the volume and size of deals continue to rise as expansion and national brand involvement accelerates.
Finally, franchise economics reflect this growth, with team valuations and expansion fees have exploded, with new expansion teams commanding nine-figure prices (shown by Golden State Valkyries valuation of $500M), demonstrating strong, durable investor confidence in the WNBA’s long-term economics. Yet despite this boom, players currently receive a single-digit share (~9.3%) of league revenue under the existing CBA, well below the revenue shares players in other major leagues receive. By comparison, under the current NBA players and owners split basketball-related income roughly 50/50.
That gap, combined with rising league revenues, makes a strong case that compensation should be materially re-aligned with economic reality.
The league’s perspective: The debate is not whether the WNBA is growing, but how to ensure that growth is durable and sustainable. While recent gains in viewership, sponsorship interest, and expansion signal strong momentum, league leadership notes that much of this progress is recent and still accompanied by significant ongoing investment. Revenue growth, in this view, does not yet equate to stable, recurring profitability, particularly as the league continues to fund initiatives such as charter travel, marketing, facilities, and expansion support.
The league also emphasizes the importance of preserving competitive balance and long-term franchise health across markets with varying resources. Gradual, measured changes to compensation structures are seen as a way to protect flexibility, support newer teams, and avoid overcommitting before revenue trends are tested over multiple seasons. From this standpoint, the goal is to align player compensation with the league’s trajectory while maintaining the financial stability needed to continue investing in growth and expansion.
Player Proposed Key Bargaining Points:
Revenue-linked pay model (phased): Move from a fixed salary schedule to a model where player compensation grows proportionally with league revenue growth. By doing a phased approach, instead of jumping immediately to players taking a percentage of league revenues, they’re proposing a smaller revenue share which will gradually increase in the coming years, giving the league time to adjust financially. They feel this is a way for players to capture a meaningful and sustainable share of the league’s rapid growth.
Significant uplift to salaries now: Even with future revenue-sharing, an interim raise to minimums, averages, and max salaries addresses immediate cost-of-living and safety concerns (charter travel, housing) while talks continue. Record attendance growth (up ~48 % YoY), surging TV audiences (regular-season viewership up ~170%), and expanding sponsorship revenue (up ~50% since 2022) together create sustainable new revenue streams that can directly fund higher player salaries.
Clear, transparent revenue definition & governance: Ensure that any revenue-sharing is based on clearly defined, auditable top-line metrics and jointly governed. As the league prefers sharing on “net” profit because they can control what expenses get deducted, players feel that moving to a gross revenue model will make things clearer, as it will clearly capture the revenue growth drivers of media, sponsorship, commercial partnerships, etc. without being manipulated.
Offseason and player support: Expand benefits that reduce risky overseas dependence, such as better housing & travel, health & family support, and scheduling changes, which will remove the need for players to accept lower safety pay overseas, a concern heightened by the high-profile Brittney Griner situation in 2022.
What’s Next:
League leadership has struck an optimistic tone as negotiations continue. WNBA Commissioner Cathy Engelbert has described the talks as constructive, emphasizing the pursuit of a transformational agreement that reflects the league’s growth while supporting long-term stability. NBA Commissioner Adam Silver recently echoed that sentiment, acknowledging that the WNBA’s momentum warrants meaningful change and expressing confidence that the parties can ultimately reach a deal. Without a new deal in place, the league faces the possibility of a lockout, a scenario that could stall offseason movement and disrupt the WNBA’s momentum.
Also looming are startup leagues and alternatives like Unrivaled and Project B increasing pressure on the WNBA by offering players higher pay, equity upside, and more control, which raises the risk of talent fragmentation if the league doesn’t keep pace. As credible outside options grow, the WNBA faces real competitive forces to modernize compensation and revenue sharing to retain stars and protect long-term growth.
This source of tension gives way to a critical next phase: turning alignment in principle into a finalized agreement. In the weeks ahead, league and union leaders will need to close remaining gaps, lift the pause on offseason activity, and provide clarity for players, teams, and commercial partners heading into the next season. The question is no longer whether the WNBA is ready for a new labor framework, but whether it can move quickly enough to ensure that its period of growth is matched by a structure that delivers stability, fairness, and shared success.
