WNBA players are celebrating a game-winning milestone in their careers.
After all, the athlete’s union and the WNBA reached a tentative agreement on a new Collective Bargaining Agreement following 17 months of negotiations, a deal the union’s vice president Ayesha Clark described as “a defining moment for women’s basketball.”
“We are changing the economics of this game,” the Washington Mystics forward shared in a joint statement with WNBA commissioner Cathy Engelbert to CNBC on March 18. “Players sharing in the business we’ve built. Salaries that reflect our values. A system that grows with the league. These are real changes that strengthen the players, elevate the game, and make the product on the floor better.”
The Women’s National Basketball Players Association had opted out of its CBA in October 2024, four years after it went into effect, a year before it was set to expire. The decision allowed the union to negotiate what it argued would be a fairer deal, given the sport’s dramatic growth.
