The past couple of years for the WNBA have been historic. Fans around the basketball world have attributed much of the credit for this growth to the “Caitlin Clark Effect”. The seeds of this “Caitlin Clark Effect” were already planted in the 2023 NCAA championship game. Fast forward a couple of years, and the “Caitlin Clark Effect” is well and truly going on strong. With numerous attendance and TV viewership records broken, these are exciting times for the WNBA. The league is also profiting from it.

However, despite all this going the league’s way, there is an imminent threat to the league’s growth. With the existing CBA expiring in mere months, and the no progress being made on the new CBA. There is a very likely possibility of a lockout. There was a hope of a resolution being reached in the recent meeting during the All-Star Weekend. However, nothing came of it. But while the deal did not happen, the WNBA players and fans sent a clear message that was heard loudly all around. 

As the players walked out in “Pay Us What You Owe Us” t-shirts, the message was clear. After the game ended and trophy presentations were going on, the whole arena started chanting “ Pay Them! Pay Them!” While most of the sports community is supporting the players. Some are talking subtle digs at the players’ message. Reacting to this issue on their Nightcap podcast, Shannon Sharpe and Chad Johnson had some interesting thoughts.

While discussing the WNBA player’s message, Shannon Sharpe took a dig at the message, stated that the WNBA has never turned a profit. As per him, asking for a raise when the league isn’t even making money is a “slippery slope”. Shannon brought to attention that despite breaking so many viewership and attendance records, the WNBA still had a loss of $40 million in 2024. However, his co-host, Chad Johnson, shed light on the league’s growth and potential as an argument for paying the players. 

He explained that the old narrative of “nobody paying attention to the league” is over now. Citing his own experiences, he said that every game that he’s been to, the arenas are jam-packed. Regardless of who’s playing, the fans are showing up for games. His argument was to increase the revenue share for players. Even Shannon Sharpe was supportive of this, saying that while he doesn’t believe the league would pay 30 years’ worth of back-pay, they should at least increase the revenue share percentage. 

Commissioner Cathy Engelbert Confident of New CBA Deal Before Deadline

With a threat of looming WNBA lockout, the pressure is immense on Cathy Engelbert. Just months away from the October 2025 deadline, players and fans are eager to get the new CBA deal done as soon as possible. There was an increased hope of the two parties getting closer to agreeing on a deal. But, the message coming from the players’ side is that the meeting was not fruitful and a “wasted opportunity”. However, from the commissioner’s side, the story seems to be the opposite one. 

Speaking publicly recently, Cathy Engelbert emphasised that the conversations with the players were constructive. She also seemed confident of getting a new deal done before the deadline. She said, “I have confidence we can get something done by October, but I’m not going to put an exact date on it. We’ve got some room to continue negotiations if we’re close at that point.”

With at least one side admitting to being close to the deal, there is cautious optimism amongst the fans. Whether the deal happens or not, that remains to be seen. But one thing is certain: any kind of stoppage to the league at this point would be a detrimental stop in the league’s momentum.