72,248,000. Not a country’s population, but someone’s paycheck. That someone is NBA star Devin Booker, who is set to earn a staggering $72.5 million this year alone. Now, if you compare that to the average salary of a WNBA player, the contrast is jaw-dropping. Even the league’s top earners don’t make 0.36% of that figure — and this is despite record-breaking attendances and surging TV ratings. Thankfully, the issue hasn’t gone unnoticed. WNBA stars like Caitlin Clark have spoken up. But what few expected was that this fight would also draw support from the soccer world, as NWSL players stepped forward to become part of the movement.

“Pay Us What You Owe Us.” For those familiar with the WNBA’s battle with the WNBPA (Players Association) over the CBA (Collective Bargaining Agreement), this phrase is no stranger. Printed in bold white letters on black T-shirts, the WNBPA first wore these back in July ahead of the All-Star Game. But this time, the shirts weren’t on basketball players. Before their weekend NWSL clash against the Washington Spirit, the entire Kansas City Current squad was seen proudly wearing the slogan across their chests as they arrived at CPKC Stadium.

This was the least the KC Current could have done, given that their star forward, Haley Hopkins, serves as the president of the NWSLPA. In fact, her teammates, Izzy Rodriguez and Kayla Sharples, are also involved as player representatives. By structure, each of the 14 NWSL clubs has at least two elected player representatives.

However, KC Current, Orlando Pride, Utah Royals, and Bay FC are the only teams with three members on the NWSLPA. Alongside Hopkins as President, the Executive Committee also includes Pride’s Simone Charley as Vice President, Royals’ Madison Pogarch as Secretary, and Bay FC’s Emily Menges as Treasurer.

Then again, it was quite a gesture from both the NWSLPA and the entire KC Current team, who showcased their solidarity for WNBA players as collective bargaining talks continue. The fight is simple: fair pay and a greater share of league revenue. While the WNBA recently struck a $2.2 billion, 11-year media deal with Disney, NBC, and Amazon, it’s nowhere near the NBA’s massive $76 billion agreement. That gap has already pushed the WNBPA to opt out of its CBA two years early.

Currently, WNBA players only receive 20–25% of basketball-related income, compared to roughly 50% in the NBA. Salaries range between $66,000 and $250,000, while NBA players average around $10 million. In response, some stars have sought alternatives. Breanna Stewart and Napheesa Collier introduced Unrivaled, a 3-on-3 offseason league that offers an average salary of $222,000 — more than many WNBA contracts.

Others, like Angel Reese, have even suggested drastic action. On her podcast in March, she warned, “I’m hearing that if the league doesn’t give us what we want, we’re sitting out.” With the current CBA set to expire after the 2025 season, the threat of a lockout in 2026 looms large if no resolution is reached.

So far, it has been heard that the WNBA’s counterproposal has been rejected. Ahead of the 2025 season, WNBPA president Nneka Ogwumike outlined the players’ key concerns, but progress has stalled. Hopes of reaching common ground quickly faded after the league’s first proposal arrived in June, which Dallas Wings star Satou Sabally called a “slap in the face.”

The reason for the rejection is clear — the players believe their demands for fair pay and better conditions weren’t taken seriously. As Napheesa Collier put it, “No one wants a lockout, but I think we have to stand firm in what we think we deserve in this new CBA.”

Either way, one thing is clear: the fight continues, with even the NWSL also joining the movement. Not to mention, they themselves have their silent issues to resolve, even though they have successfully won their own equal pay battle.

Despite equal pay, issues persist within the NWSL!

To be fair, the NWSL managed to fight its equal pay fight a long time ago. Under the new Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA) that was signed years ago, the NWSL’s minimum salary rose to $36,400 in 2023, a jump from $22,000 in 2021. Back in 2022, the players’ union revealed that three-quarters of the league’s athletes earned less than $33,000 annually.

This stands in stark contrast to MLS, where senior players have a base salary of $84,000 and reserves earn about $65,500. What’s striking is that NWSL games on television have at times pulled in bigger audiences than MLS. For instance, a preseason clash between San Diego and Angel City drew 456,000 viewers, compared to just 123,000 who tuned in to watch an MLS meeting between the Portland Timbers and LA Galaxy that same weekend.

Not to mention, while the men’s league secured a 10-year, $2.5 billion global streaming deal with Apple, the women’s side signed a much smaller four-year package worth $200 million with Amazon Prime, ESPN, Scripps Sports, and CBS — a gap that’s clearly reflected in player salaries. And that has resulted in the NWSL losing major talent.

“I don’t think it’s arguably — it is the most competitive league from top to bottom,” is what Emma Hayes remarked while praising the American women’s domestic league, even though she enjoyed glorious decades in the WSL. But the same cannot be said when heard from those who have played there and are even playing.

Mainly, the issue has been the salary cap. USWNT skipper Lindsey Heaps, who, even though kick-started her career in her hometown, Colorado, has spent the majority of her time in Europe with OL Lyon. And her reason has been simple: “There’s a salary cap in the NWSL,” began the midfielder while speaking to Just Women’s Sports. “And that’s an ongoing issue there that hopefully can be changed or increased, but I think it’s a factor…For players coming overseas.”

Even veterans Tobin Heath and Christen Press are also under the same impression that the salary cap is indeed a problem in the NWSL. “The difference is so gross that it makes it almost not worthy of a daily discussion as to why players are going to the UK,” said Press, indicating the recent transfers of Naomi Girma to Chelsea, Jenna Nighswonger to Arsenal, Kerolin to Man City, and Crystal Dunn to PSG.

Heck, more recently, Alyssa Thompson joined Chelsea for a club record fee of $1.4 million, getting lured in by the London club through a lucrative contract. And it’s not like back in England, no salary cap made Thompson join them. In the Women’s Super League and the Women’s Championship, clubs follow a ‘soft’ salary cap, which is tied to a percentage of revenue. Teams can spend up to 40% of their income on player wages, including money from their parent clubs.

As a result, women’s sides connected to wealthy men’s teams are able to invest far more in their squads. However, this system has faced criticism for widening the financial gap between clubs. It’s no surprise, then, that big names like Chelsea, Arsenal, Manchester United, and Manchester City can splash heavily in the transfer market. That explains why, to avoid such imbalances, the NWSL uses a fixed salary cap, aimed at keeping competition level and stopping richer clubs from hoarding top players.

Still, this approach has its drawbacks. While it protects parity across the league, it can also make it harder to attract world-class international talent—or even to keep players from leaving. Such instances only tell us how much there is to accomplish, irrespective of sport. Regardless, share your views in the comments below.