With the 2026 collective bargaining agreement (CBA), WNBA players won a historic 367% raise. It comes with 20% of league revenue, league-provided housing, better health and family benefits, and the deal holds for seven years.
Getting there took 17 months. The Women's National Basketball Players Association (WNBPA) reached out to Claudia Goldin, the Harvard economist who won a Nobel for her work on women and pay. Her finding: The average NBA player made about $10 million. The average WNBA player? About $127,000. That’s roughly 1/80 as much as the men.
The WNBPA executive committee vowed that this CBA would be different. Specifically, it would reflect the enormous value the players create — value that brings big money into the WNBA.
The players stood their ground: They opened negotiations asking for a 40% gross revenue share, watched the league’s counter work out to less than 15%, and let deadline after deadline pass without blinking. At one point, they were prepared to strike if necessary. The last stretch of negotiations ran eight consecutive all-nighters. (See: middle-of-the-night selfies.)
Zooming out: The slow growth of women's sports was never about the quality of the product — it was about who had who held the power to price it. Few of us can negotiate a revenue share at work. The off-the-court job market is also challenging right now. But anchoring high, ignoring a fake deadline, and knowing your walkaway number before you sit down? That works in a conference room, too. Hear how the players did it, in their own words:
They recognized their value.
In 2025, WNBA games averaged 1.3 million viewers on ESPN — the league’s most-watched regular season on the network ever. The WNBA ordered 400% more merch, according to The Information. Business was booming. But players weren’t seeing that growth in their pay. The most any player could earn — the supermax, reserved for the league’s best — was $249,244.
“The players are what is building this brand and this league…There is no league without the players…they're the ones that have put in the blood, sweat, and tears, for the new money that's coming in."
— Minnesota Lynx forward and WNBPA First Vice President Napheesa Collier
They got clear on what they wanted and why.
One of their top priorities? Keeping the long-standing league-provided housing benefit. The league wanted to phase it out as salaries rose. The argument being that, under the new deal, the max salary would top a million, and the average player would clear $500K. Another way of saying, pay your own rent, it would seem.
During negotiations, Brianna Turner asked about the LA Olympics — and what LA Sparks players would do since apartments would be expensive and hard to come by. The league had no answer, according to SBJ, but eventually made some concessions.
The final deal keeps league-provided housing for all players through 2028, and for players making $500,000 or less in 2029 and 2030.
“What about 2028?”
They asked for a cut, not just a check.
They already had salaries. What they didn't have was a meaningful piece of the business — so they got 20% of the WNBA's gross revenue on top. The league grows, they grow with it. That's the part that compounds.
“This agreement must include a salary system tied to a meaningful share of the revenue that would not exist without player labor, mandate professional working conditions, and require protections that honor the players who built this league and set the next generation up for success.”
— The WNBPA’s statement in January, underlying the union’s objective
“We're just asking for a percentage of the revenue. You know, we want to ensure that we are growing with the business that we're building.”
— Los Angeles Sparks forward and WNBPA President Nneka Ogwumike
“This agreement is a direct result of our players’ commitment to ownership — of their value and their future — and the strength of a player-led union.”
— Los Angeles Sparks forward and WNBPA President Nneka Ogwumike’s statement during the homestretch of negotiations,
“We’re getting 20% of all revenue. We’re a partnership. We’re a collaboration…What is good for the WNBA is good for the players and vice versa."
— New York Liberty forward and WNBPA Vice President Breanna Stewart
They set a high anchor.
The union initially asked for 40% of gross revenue — every dollar the league takes in, later adjusting to 26%. The WNBA countered with 70% of net revenue: what's left after it subtracts its own expenses. Bigger percentage, much smaller pot.
The deal landed at 20% of revenue — still above where the league started (remember that 15%). The takeaway: Start high, so you can come down in good faith — and still land where you want to be.
“You know, I don't even think that we were going to start that high…And quite frankly the league's first proposal had the players share at less than 13…And so to come back six weeks later and that's still where they're at doesn't demonstrate a sense of urgency from their side.”
– Los Angeles Sparks forward and WNBPA President Nneka Ogwumike, on her frustration during the back-and-forth revenue-share negotiations
“I thought our team did an incredible job negotiating and never giving up until we got exactly what we wanted.”
— New York Liberty forward and WNBPA Vice President Breanna Stewart
They were ready to miss a paycheck.
During the offseason, 98% of players who voted agreed they would support a strike if it came down to it. They knew they would be the ones to suffer — no games means no paychecks. They voted for it anyway. Players knew the product was them, and they were willing to bet on it.
“I think [the league and owners] just feel that we’re gonna just sign, and we’re not. We’re gonna just sit out if that’s the case. Like, we deserve it.”
– An anonymous player, on how anxious she felt — or didn’t feel, in this case —about the negotiations
“We know how important it is as players to play and to be on the court, but if we're not being valued, we're not going to do something that doesn't make sense for us."
— New York Liberty forward and WNBPA Vice President Breanna Stewart
"Having the strike on the table is something that we're very much aware of, but there's so many more conversations that have to happen. You know, we're not just going to say, 'Hey, today's the day [we'll strike].' You know, I think…what we're demonstrating right now is negotiating in good faith."
— Los Angeles Sparks forward and WNBPA President Nneka Ogwumike
“We opted out [of the 2020 CBA] because what we were giving to this league and what we were getting back didn't match. You could feel the growth everywhere, but it wasn't showing up for the players the way it should. So we stayed with it until it did.”
— Dallas Wings forward and WNBPA Vice President Alysha Clark, speaking in the lobby of a New York hotel at 3 am after finalizing the deal
Those who seemed most willing to walk had savings or other income sources.
The players were prepared. Here’s what some of them had to say when ESPN asked how a missed paycheck would impact them:
“I've done a good job about saving up, just in case that scenario does happen.”
“I'm not making an insane amount for it to be a really big deal. Fortunately, I've been around these last few years and been able to make more off court. But I still want it. I'm fighting to have another year in the league. I would love to have a season where I'm able to make more money and really just feel even more comfortable in life and be able to do more for my family.”
“I was very fortunate that my family has taught me good financial advice and saving and investing…I'm OK, but I also know that not everyone is in my position.”
They didn’t let the other side rush them.
The negotiations stretched past multiple deadline extensions, including one that would mean a later start to the season. And ultimately, it took eight long — like, ordering-ice-cream-at-3-am long — days to come to the final agreement.
“We haven’t ever really considered that as a timeline that’s been something to prioritize on our side, because we have always been negotiating in good faith.”
– Los Angeles Sparks forward and WNBPA President Nneka Ogwumike
“Do they really think they’re going to outlast an endurance athlete? This is what we do.”
— Dallas Wings forward and WNBPA Vice President Alysha Clark
The bottom line: Even if you’re not an endurance athlete, there’s plenty from this playbook that’ll work the next time you ask for a raise — being prepared, knowing your worth, and ultimately, betting on yourself. Game on.