“We were at a very different place in 2020 than we are in 2025.” This statement by Cathy Engelbert is a testament that the meteoric rise of WNBA wasn’t all fun and games. The league witnessed years of sweat, determination, and the dedication of generations. The result? A breakthrough in 2024 as surging crowds led to a historic $2.2 billion media rights deal, thanks to Caitlin Clark and Angel Reese. This rise continued in 2025 with the inclusion of the Golden State Valkyries, as Cathy eyed expansions beyond the horizon with $250 million deals. But was this truly enough?

There is an imminent threat to the league’s growth with the CBA negotiations coming to a close in October 2025, two years earlier than expected. The players and the W sat down for a conversation surrounding the revenue sharing model and salary growth of athletes. However, the outcome was far from promising. This led to a widespread public resentment by athletes during the 2025 WNBA All-Star warm-ups on Saturday.

Every player, including Caitlin Clark, came out wearing t-shirts with a message saying, “Pay us what you owe us.” When Napheesa Collier received her All-Star MVP award, the whole arena began chanting, “Pay them!” Not just fans, one national analyst too sided with the sentiment.

ESPN-W analyst Sarah Spain supported the stance of the athletes. Echoing Nobel Prize-winning economist, Claudia Goldin, Spain agreed that the women players should earn at least three-fourths of what their male counterparts earn in the NBA. Voicing her concerns on X (former Twitter), Spain posted a glaring truth, “Per Nobel Prize-winning economist Claudia Goldin, W players should be making roughly 1/3 to 1/4 of NBA salaries if they apply the same revenue sharing model. (Right now they’re making 1/80th).”

Led by the WNBPA President Nneka Ogwumike and Vice-President Breanna Stewart, the union suggested an equity-based model. According to this, the players’ salaries and cap will increase similarly to how the NBA operates- on a 50% sharing capacity. On the other hand, the women’s league only resorts to a staggering 9–10% revenue sharing with the players. But guess what? The league has no plans to shorten the disparity either.

The player’s organisation also released a statement after the meeting. “The WNBA’s response to our proposals fails to address the priorities we’ve voiced. We will not stop until we achieve the transformational CBA this moment demands,” it read. However, the counter-proposal from the W led to a deadlock, and none of the parties could reach a conclusive decision. This left the players with a bitter taste, as the release further stated.

The WNBA athletes are earning far smaller shares of revenue when compared to their NBA counterparts. The players are making just 1/80th (or 1.25%) while they should ideally be receiving 1/3rd of the revenue. Moreover, Claudia Goldin’s reasoning suggests that if fairness is measured by revenue-to-salary ratios, then WNBA players are significantly underpaid relative to what their male counterparts earn under the NBA model.

While the W fails to generate more or equal revenue when compared to the NBA, if women players received the same percentage of league revenue as NBA players do, then WNBA salaries should be 25%–33% of NBA salaries. And this was proposed by the WNBPA. However, the league had a different take altogether.

“We want to be able to have that fair share moving forward, especially as we see all of the investment going in, and we want to be able to have our salaries reflected in a structure that makes sense for us,” Ogwumike said. WNBA salaries currently range from a minimum of $66,079 to a maximum of $249,244. The average WNBA base salary is $102,249, according to Spotrac.

The players’ union noticed that the gap in the booming media rights, ratings, revenue, team valuations, expansion fees, attendance, and ticket sales are all up in historic fashion, which isn’t reflecting on the payment for those who actually bring it. Further commenting on reaching loggerheads during the negotiations, the New York Liberty athlete Breanna Stewart bluntly refused to make any progress. “I think yesterday’s meeting was good for the fact that we could be in the same room as the league and the Board of Governors. But, I think, to be frank, it was a wasted opportunity,” Stewart continued.

But Commissioner Cathy Engelbert had a different view. “I think you’ll see the revenue-sharing be a much more lucrative one as we go forward because we’re in a better place, quite frankly.” Despite a historic meeting where more than 40 players turned up, the meeting turned into a big disappointment. No wonder the players turned up in the black shirts. They decided to don the shirts as a mark of protest, fully aware that the All-Star Event is the last high-profile event before the season ends in September.

WNBA Commissioner Cathy Engelbert eyes expansion

Despite welcoming the newly expanded team in the Golden State Valkyries this season, WNBA Commissioner Cathy Engelbert was eyeing long-term goals for the league. Watching the instant rise of the league and the surge of crowds, Engelbert knew that 2025 was the perfect year to implement these goals.

“The demand for women’s basketball has never been higher, and we are thrilled to welcome Cleveland, Detroit, and Philadelphia to the WNBA family,” Engelbert had said. “This historic expansion is a powerful reflection of our league’s extraordinary momentum, the depth of talent across the game, and the surging demand for investment in women’s professional basketball.”

The league will soon witness three new teams as cities Philadelphia, Cleveland, and Detroit joined hands with Cathy & Co. The deal came through with a lucrative $250 million per team, nearly four times higher rates when compared to the Valkyries. Besides, another team is set to mark its debut in 2026.

With Portland Fire ready to set the league ablaze next year, this move solidifies WNBA’s increasing popularity across the nation. As the league rises further, it will be exciting to watch how Cathy & Co. will come to terms with the current CBA negotiations, following players’ needs, and shift the momentum to player-centric.