On October 21, 2024, the players’ union announced it was opting out of the current CBA. They made it clear they wanted a bigger share of the business. Fast forward to today, and the two sides are still locked in negotiations. It’s now reached a point where social media chatter is claiming Angel Reese could leave the WNBA.

An X user going by Hoops (@Hoopss) claimed, “Angel Reese announced she will not be playing in the WNBA because her $75,000 annual contract is too small. In a bold and defiant response, Reese announced she is willing to wait ‘as long as it takes’ to be paid what she believes is a better salary.”

Now, we all know that Reese has gone on record saying her WNBA salary (which was $74,909 for the 2025 season) isn’t enough to even cover her bills. She’s probably not the only player who feels that way, and it explains why CBA negotiations have stretched on for so long. But is she actually leaving the WNBA because of it?

Well, we at EssentiallySports can confirm that this claim is completely false. The user likely posted it to farm engagement, and it clearly worked. At the time of writing, the post has 927K views, over 3,000 comments, and 3.2K likes. So, WNBA fans, there’s nothing to worry about. Angel Reese will definitely play the 2026 season… provided there’s a season to play.

The two sides have been negotiating for 16 months, and we still don’t know if there will even be a season come May. Earlier this week, the league informed teams and the union that if a term sheet for the new CBA isn’t in place by March 10, the 2026 season will be impacted. That’s definitely not what fans want to hear.

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As things stand, there’s still a significant gap between the two sides, and it all comes down to one key issue: revenue sharing. The league’s latest proposal includes a $5.65 million salary cap for the 2026 season, which would push the average salary to around $535,000 in year one. That’s a significant leap from about $120,000 in 2025.

But here’s where the problem lies. Under the league’s proposal, players would receive roughly 15 percent of gross revenue. The union, however, is asking for 27.5 percent of gross team and league revenue, something the league is not prepared to agree to. According to The Athletic, if the players’ demands are met, the league could face losses of up to $460 million over the life of the agreement.

So, unless both parties reach an agreement, we could be looking at a lockout scenario. That’s definitely not what we want, or what the players want, especially after the blood, sweat, and tears they’ve poured into growing this league. The impact of their efforts was evident this week when the league announced that Angel Reese and Co. had helped hit the revenue-sharing target for the first time during the 2025 season.

For those unaware, the 2020 CBA introduced a revenue-sharing system that allowed players to earn a share of revenue once it exceeded a set target. That target increased by 20 percent each season and was cumulative over the life of the deal. So despite a major revenue jump in 2024, thanks to the arrival of Caitlin Clark and Angel Reese, the WNBA still couldn’t surpass the total target due to the pandemic-hit 2020 and 2021 seasons, when revenue dipped sharply.

But they’ve finally hit the target, resulting in an $8 million payout to players across the 13 teams that played last season.

Considering the gains players have helped generate over the years, it would be unfair if they don’t get the CBA they deserve. But that outcome also has to account for the league’s financial reality. A middle ground must be reached. Whether that happens before March 10 is something we’ll have to wait and see. In the meantime, many of us will be watching the Bayou Barbie ball out in Unrivaled.

Angel Reese Makes Explosive Unrivaled Return

The Bayou Barbie missed the final stretch of the WNBA season due to a lingering back injury that limited her to just 30 games. Her reduced availability was one of the biggest reasons the Sky finished second-to-last in the standings. Her injury initially ruled her out of Unrivaled as she prioritized rehab. At least, that’s what we thought at first before the Rose BC made a blockbuster move to bring their champion back for the final stretch of the competition. And boy, has she been impressive!

In just 28.5 minutes of action this Unrivaled season, Reese has already put up 22 points and 23 rebounds. She nearly guided Rose BC to victories in both games if not for a controversial call that hadn’t erased what seemed to be a clean steal on Sonia Citron on her return. Either way, momentum has already swung thanks to the Bayou Barbie.

With their latest win over Laces BC, Rose BC has punched its ticket to the playoffs and once again looks like a team that could potentially win the championship, now that its defensive anchor is back with the team.

Do you see them going back-to-back this season? Let us know in the comments down below!