INGLEWOOD, Calif. — As the WNBA and the players’ association continue to negotiate a new collective bargaining agreement, NBA commissioner Adam Silver said he is not prepared to set a deadline to ensure the WNBA season would start on the scheduled May 8 opening night.
However, he urges both parties to operate with a new heightened sense of urgency.
“What I would love to do is put pressure on everyone,” Silver said at his annual news conference at NBA All-Star Weekend. “Often, things tend to get done at the 11th hour. We’re getting awfully close to the 11th hour when it comes to bargaining.”
Editor’s Picks
2 Related
For the first time since December, the negotiations are considered to be heading in the right direction, though they are still moving slowly.
“I’m encouraged that there has been more back-and-forth over the past few weeks,” Silver said.
Silver clarified that he has not been at the negotiating table, but has been involved behind the scenes.
“I want to play whatever role would be most productive in getting a deal done,” Silver said. “I think we need to now move toward the next level of sense of urgency and not lose momentum in terms of the amazing amount of progress we’ve seen in women’s basketball.”
On Feb. 6, the league sent a new proposal in response to the union’s offer in December. The league’s latest proposal reportedly included concessions on housing and facility standards but did not include a significant change in revenue sharing.
The league has proposed that players receive, on average, over 70% of net revenue, defined as revenue after deducting expenses. Its latest proposal included a $5.65 million salary cap in 2026 (up from roughly $1.5 million in 2025), and it would grow in subsequent years in line with revenue growth.
In its previous proposal, maximum salaries, including revenue share payouts, would amount to $1.3 million in 2026 and were projected to approach $2 million in 2031. The supermax in 2025 came in at $249,000. The average player salary, including revenue sharing, was projected to reach $540,000 in 2026 and $780,000 by 2031, up from $120,000 in 2025.
The players, meanwhile, have proposed a $10.5 million salary cap and want to receive 30% of gross revenue — defined as revenue before deducting expenses.
Multiple sources told ESPN that the league projected the union’s plan would result in $700 million in losses during the agreement and that it would jeopardize the league’s financial health. However, the union believes its revenue sharing model still puts the league in a “profitable position,” a separate source close to the negotiations said.
A source told ESPN that the WNBPA has not submitted a response to the league’s most recent proposal. In December, the WNBPA player body gave the executive committee the right to call a strike.
Last week, executive committee treasurer Brianna Turner told ESPN that she believes a strike, “is not imminent at this point.”
“It’s still early February, like we’re still going,” she said. “So, I feel like we’re still in a waiting game at the moment.”
