In WNBAthe new collective agreement continues to be negotiated between the league and the players’ union (WNBPA). Thanks to an agreement signed on November 30, the two camps now have until January 9 to find common ground. After this deadline, the start of the next season could be disrupted.
A possibility that the players’ union is starting to prepare for. This Friday, 93% of players participated in a vote to determine whether or not they were in favor of a strike if no agreement is reached.
Of this panel of 93% of players, 98% of them said they were in favor of this strike, but this does not necessarily imply that it will happen. In fact, it allows the executive committee to then vote on the establishment of a strike if it is deemed necessary, which has never happened since the creation of the WNBA in 1996.
« [Ce vote] is the symbol of our unity and the trust we have in each other to be able to grant ourselves a certain level of authority in these negotiations,” says the president of the players’ union, Nneka Ogwumike. “This means we can go on strike if we need to, but not that we want to. We now have in our arsenal a way to get exactly what we want. »
Stagnating negotiations
Despite this new vote, nothing has really evolved in the negotiations between the two camps and the players’ union still refuses that the salary cap be determined with a fixed increase while the WNBA is experiencing unprecedented growth which should continue in the coming years.
For its part, the WNBPA (players’ union) proposed a model where players would recover 30% of the league’s revenues, but this idea does not fit with the league’s financial estimates.
Even if negotiations do not move forward, Nneka Ogwumike maintains that she wants to participate in a 2026 season: “ We are looking to find a good agreement and we are ready to do anything to achieve it, knowing that we want a 2026 season. We want to make sure that this season is the best possible. I am optimistic. I want to play and I know I will get a satisfactory agreement for the players thanks to the incredible leadership of the executive committee. I look forward to seeing how we can work together better in the future. »
In the meantime, WNBA players who do not play in Europe will return to the courts on January 5 for the kickoff of the second edition of the “Unrivaled” league.
