INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — WNBA players and league officials met Thursday before the start of the All-Star weekend festivities for discussions on a new collective bargaining agreement.
All-Stars Caitlin Clark, Paige Bueckers and Angel Reese were among about 40 players, most wearing business suits, who took part in the first face-to-face meeting featuring players since December.
Players opted out of the current CBA last October and are seeking a better revenue sharing model, increased salaries, improved benefits, and a softer salary cap.
The sides are far apart in preliminary discussions and agreed to another meeting this weekend.
“I don’t know that I’m going to say progress, but we had spirited conversation,” said Terri Carmichael Jackson, the executive director of the Women’s National Basketball Players Association.
If a deal isn’t done by the end of October, some players, including Napheesa Collier and Reese, have mentioned the potential of a walkout, which could present some immediate problems. The league has two new teams in Portland and Toronto starting next season and the expansion draft has typically been in December. Free agency usually starts in January.
The league has never lost a game to a work stoppage since it started in 1997. Jackson said the sides would eventually get to a new deal, though wouldn’t say if they got any closer to it Thursday.
“I think we’re on track to get back to meeting, and to engaging in conversations that will lead us to a CBA,” she said.
Jackson said Thursday was the most players the union ever had in the room, and was particularly impressed by the number of young stars such as Clark who have helped spark unprecedented growth across nearly every business metric from attendance and viewership.
There’s also the new $2.2 billion media rights deal that will start next season and the league plans to expand to 18 teams by 2030, with each of the three new teams paying $250 million expansion fee.
Players sent the league an initial proposal in February that the league finally responded to last month. Jackson believes the sides can overcome that slow start.
“I think we have plenty of time,” she said.
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