No one knows exactly when the WNBA and the WNBPA will finally reach a deal on the current collective bargaining agreement. But with the October 31 deadline looming, one thing feels certain…something big is coming. Will the league head into a lockout? Will there be an extension? The answers are still up in the air. Whatever happens, once a new CBA is reached, the game could look very different for players like Caitlin Clark.

This isn’t our claim; it’s what’s being discussed in the latest episode of Pablo Torre Finds Out. Everyone knows the impact Caitlin Clark has had on the WNBA. Her rookie season made history. Over 54 million unique viewers tuned in across ABC, CBS, ESPN, ESPN2, ION, and NBA TV. A record 22 regular-season games averaged at least a million viewers, and fans collectively spent a staggering 136.29 million hours watching her light up the court.

But even with all that impact, Clark’s salary doesn’t come close to matching it. According to Spotrac, her four-year rookie contract averages $84,514 a year, totaling $338,056 over the full deal. Those numbers, however, could look very different once the next collective bargaining agreement is in place.

And a lot of it will come down to the media deal in place, according to Sue Bird. On the same podcast, she said, “Yeah. I think this is where that media deal is just the proof of the pudding. I don’t, I don’t really view it that way. I think that deal represents, I don’t know, like–so don’t quote me exactly. I think our previous media deal was like 22 million.”

According to Sports Business Daily, the WNBA and ESPN first signed a deal in 2013 worth around $12 million per season. Just a year later, in 2014, they renegotiated the television rights deal, boosting it to $25 million per year.

But everything changed with the arrival of Caitlin Clark. A new deal is now in place that has the WNBA earning big. According to ESPN, the deal is valued at around $2.2 billion, or $200 million per year, and future agreements with additional partners could push the league’s total media deals closer to $3 billion. Sue Bird firmly believes this could be a game changer.

“Assuming some form of a revenue share gets kicked into the collective bargaining agreement, which obviously they’re negotiating, I really don’t know. I’m not in the rooms, and I don’t want to emphasize that. But at the same time, you assume some of this media deal—obviously the players are going to get something of it–already, boom, you’re going to see salaries go up. I mean, who knows? Hundreds of thousands of dollars right out the gate. And it’s not a risk. It’s not a question mark. It’s not ‘if we get this.’ We have it. We have 200 plus million dollars a year from the media deal, and we all know that’s how sports leagues thrive. It’s this media deal, and we finally got it,” she continued.

The main hurdle keeping both sides from reaching a deal right now is the players’ push for a revenue-sharing model. Currently, they earn less than 10 percent of the league’s basketball-related income. A report from Front Office Sports cited sources saying an offer from the WNBA was rejected, which included a supermax salary around $850,000 and a veteran minimum of about $300,000. To put that in context, the highest-paid WNBA player this year was Kelsey Mitchell at $249,244. While those numbers represent a big increase, what the players really want is a seat at the table through a true revenue-sharing model.

When an agreement is finally reached, WNBA player salaries are set to grow exponentially and that might not have happened if Napheesa Collier hadn’t called out the league as the “worst leadership in the world.” While some see her move as a calculated way to promote Unrivaled, Caitlin Clark is firmly on Collier’s side.

Caitlin Clark Backs Napheesa Collier

For Caitlin Clark and everyone in the WNBPA, the goal is simple but powerful: to push the league forward under a new collective bargaining agreement. This isn’t just about bigger paychecks. It’s about protecting players, improving facilities, and building a league that’s stronger for the next generation. That’s why Collier’s press conference didn’t come out of nowhere.

As Chiney Ogwumike said, “WNBA players never want to throw out all the smoke. They don’t. They only do it when necessary. They’re always strategic. They’re always calculated.”

Many players came out in support of Phee after she revealed conversations she had with the commissioner and one of those players was Clark.

“I have a great deal of respect for Phee, and I think she has voiced many very valid points”, Clark said during her exit interview on Thursday.“I think people need to understand: we need excellent leadership at this time at all levels. This is by far the most important moment in the league’s history. The league has existed for over 25 years, and right now we must seize this moment.”

No one really knows when the new CBA deal will be signed. What everyone does know, though, is that the clock is ticking. There’s hope that an agreement will come soon, because the last thing anyone wants is for the WNBA to come to a halt–especially now, when the league is finally soaring. This is a moment of growth, momentum, and opportunity, and no one wants to slow it down.