During the 2025 WNBA All-Star Game, players stepped onto the court making a statement with shirts that read “Pay us what you owe us.”The league and its players' association are currently negotiating a new collective bargaining agreement, which determines how much teams can spend on player salaries. Last year, players opted out of their current collective bargaining agreement, aiming for the new CBA to reflect higher wages amid the league’s growth in TV viewership and ticket sales.The Hearst Television Data Team read the CBAs of other professional sports leagues and compared how their revenue models compare to the WNBA. Major League Baseball was excluded from the analysis since the league does not participate in revenue sharing.Leagues like the NFL, NHL and NBA guarantee their players a fixed percentage ranging from 47-51% of the league revenue under their CBAs. The WNBA and Major Soccer League, however, do not guarantee their players a fixed percentage of league revenue. Instead, both leagues offer players a share of excess revenue.The WNBA offers players 25% of revenue if it surpasses a set target, while MLS offers 25% of increased media revenue.Leagues that guarantee players a fixed percentage of revenue tend to offer higher minimum salaries, an analysis by the Hearst Television Data Team found. While the WNBA and MLS were the only two leagues in the analysis that don’t offer players a fixed percentage of league profit, the lowest guaranteed salary in MLS is $81,000, and that’s for players on the reserve roster. The WNBA's lowest guaranteed salary is $66,000.In 2022, WNBA players' base salaries as a share of total revenue dropped to 9.3%, down from 11.1% in 2019, a Bloomberg News analysis found. When WNBA players opted out of their 2014-2021 CBA in 2018, the median salary the following year increased by 21% under the current CBA. The maximum salary rose from $117,500 in 2019 to $215,000 the following year, an increase of nearly 83%.In 2023, the WNBA estimated its league revenue at $200 million. Last season, the league secured a historic 11-year media rights deal valued at $2.2 billion or $200 million a year.The current CBA is set to expire on Oct. 31. PHNjcmlwdCB0eXBlPSJ0ZXh0L2phdmFzY3JpcHQiPiFmdW5jdGlvbigpeyJ1c2Ugc3RyaWN0Ijt3aW5kb3cuYWRkRXZlbnRMaXN0ZW5lcigibWVzc2FnZSIsKGZ1bmN0aW9uKGUpe2lmKHZvaWQgMCE9PWUuZGF0YVsiZGF0YXdyYXBwZXItaGVpZ2h0Il0pe3ZhciB0PWRvY3VtZW50LnF1ZXJ5U2VsZWN0b3JBbGwoImlmcmFtZSIpO2Zvcih2YXIgYSBpbiBlLmRhdGFbImRhdGF3cmFwcGVyLWhlaWdodCJdKWZvcih2YXIgcj0wO3I8dC5sZW5ndGg7cisrKXtpZih0W3JdLmNvbnRlbnRXaW5kb3c9PT1lLnNvdXJjZSl0W3JdLnN0eWxlLmhlaWdodD1lLmRhdGFbImRhdGF3cmFwcGVyLWhlaWdodCJdW2FdKyJweCJ9fX0pKX0oKTs8L3NjcmlwdD4=
WASHINGTON — During the 2025 WNBA All-Star Game, players stepped onto the court making a statement with shirts that read “Pay us what you owe us.”
The league and its players' association are currently negotiating a new collective bargaining agreement, which determines how much teams can spend on player salaries.
Last year, players opted out of their current collective bargaining agreement, aiming for the new CBA to reflect higher wages amid the league’s growth in TV viewership and ticket sales.
The Hearst Television Data Team read the CBAs of other professional sports leagues and compared how their revenue models compare to the WNBA. Major League Baseball was excluded from the analysis since the league does not participate in revenue sharing.
Leagues like the NFL, NHL and NBA guarantee their players a fixed percentage ranging from 47-51% of the league revenue under their CBAs.
The WNBA and Major Soccer League, however, do not guarantee their players a fixed percentage of league revenue. Instead, both leagues offer players a share of excess revenue.
The WNBA offers players 25% of revenue if it surpasses a set target, while MLS offers 25% of increased media revenue.
Leagues that guarantee players a fixed percentage of revenue tend to offer higher minimum salaries, an analysis by the Hearst Television Data Team found.
While the WNBA and MLS were the only two leagues in the analysis that don’t offer players a fixed percentage of league profit, the lowest guaranteed salary in MLS is $81,000, and that’s for players on the reserve roster. The WNBA's lowest guaranteed salary is $66,000.
In 2022, WNBA players' base salaries as a share of total revenue dropped to 9.3%, down from 11.1% in 2019, a analysis found.
When WNBA players opted out of their 2014-2021 CBA in 2018, the median salary the following year increased by 21% under the current CBA.
The maximum salary rose from $117,500 in 2019 to $215,000 the following year, an increase of nearly 83%.
In 2023, the WNBA estimated its league revenue at $200 million.
Last season, the league secured a historic 11-year media rights deal valued at $2.2 billion or $200 million a year.
The current CBA is set to expire on Oct. 31.
