WNBAPA opts out of 2020 CBA, setting stage for renegotiation with league

Yesterday at 09:54 PM

After drawing the largest audiences in league history, the WNBA's players are rightfully looking for a better deal.

The WNBA Player's Association announced on Monday that they are opting out of their current Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA) with the WNBA, which the two sides had agreed to in 2020. Per the union's official Twitter account, the WNBPA Board of Player Representatives and WNBPA Executive Committee agreed to the decision, which sets the groundwork for a new financial framework for players coming off the league's most followed season.

It's worth noting that opting out is different than a work stoppage. The WNBAPA has not taken a strike vote. All they have done is exercise an opt-out in the CBA that will severe the agreement following next season. The offseason calendar is unaffected, with the current CBA staying in place until October 31, 2025.

While no team benefits from a tense labor dispute and work stoppage, no WNBA franchise is in a dicier position than the Golden State Valkyries, who are slated to be an expansion team playing it's inaugural campaign next season. If the relationship between the league and the WNBAPA deteriorated to the point of pausing offseason activities, free agency would likely be suspended and forced into a hypercondensed schedule.

For a team that would be coming off its inaugural season, and likely looking to be more active than others, that would make the cost of a stoppage even higher. That possibility could also lead general manager Ohemaa Nyanin to push for a more aggressive approach to free agency this offseason, aiming to lock more players into multi-year contracts. Of course, premium players might be inclined to target one-year deals, hoping to score big under a new CBA.

WNBA players have expressed consistent frustrations with the league's treatment of players, who receive a far less sizable portion of revenues than their peers. While NBA players are guaranteed 42.5% of league revenues, WNBA players only received 9.3% of league revenues this season. Despite that lack of revenue share, they are still also subjected to a salary cap and have watched the league punish ownership groups for providing better accommodations.