On the morning of the WNBA All-Star Game, before the lights, the cameras, and the roaring crowd of nearly 17,000 fans, a different kind of strategy session was unfolding. Over breakfast, some of the league’s most prominent players—leaders of the WNBA Players Association—gathered in an Indianapolis hotel to confront a problem that has simmered for years: unequal pay and opaque league finances.
Out of that informal meeting came a deliberate shift in tactics. No more negotiations strictly behind closed doors. No more quiet patience. Later that day, in a powerful show of unity, every All-Star emerged for warmups wearing the same black shirt: “Pay Us What You Owe Us,” the message declared, in bold white lettering. The symbolism wasn’t lost on fans—or on the league’s commissioner, Cathy Engelbert, who was met with chants of “Pay them!” as she handed Napheesa Collier the All-Star MVP trophy at center court.
Collier, a vice president of the WNBPA, didn’t mince words: “The players are what is building this brand,” she said. “We feel like we’re owed a piece of the pie that we helped create.”
It’s not hard to see why players are demanding more. The WNBA has never been more visible or more profitable. Fueled by a surge of talent—Caitlin Clark, Angel Reese, Cameron Brink—and a culture moment that’s been years in the making, the league is riding a historic wave. Viewership is up, merchandise is flying off the shelves, and new teams are on the horizon in Toronto, Portland, and Philadelphia. A blockbuster $2.2 billion media rights deal begins in 2026.
And yet, the players’ salaries don’t reflect this growth.
Under the current collective bargaining agreement, the league minimum salary is $66,079. The maximum: $249,244. Compare that to the NBA, where the lowest-paid player earns over $1.2 million. And while NBA players take home roughly half of league revenue, WNBA players reportedly receive less than 10%.
According to Nobel Prize–winning economist Claudia Goldin, it’s not just unfair—it’s “embarrassing.” Goldin, now advising the WNBPA, argues that based on available data, the average WNBA salary should be roughly one-third that of the NBA. Instead, it’s barely a fraction.
And yet, the league has resisted any significant revenue-sharing reform in early CBA talks, prompting players to take their fight public.
It’s easy to understand where the players are coming from. They’re asking for a fair stake in the business, and certainly not more money than they deserve. The WNBA is actively growing, and while the company claims that they operate at a loss economists are skeptical of the claim.
Andrew Zimbalist, a veteran sports economist, put it plainly: “There are lots of shenanigans they can use to play with the books.” Which is all to say that if the WNBA were actually being transparent with their financial records then pushback from the players would evaporate.
The current CBA expires on October 31, and players have made it clear that a better deal isn’t optional—it’s overdue.
