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It’s now up to the players’ union to make the next move.
On Friday, the WNBA presented a counterproposal for a new collective bargaining agreement to the Women’s National Basketball Players’ Association (WNBPA), as confirmed by sources to The Post.
Since submitting their proposal on Christmas morning, the WNBPA had been eagerly anticipating an official reply from the league.
Hoping to resolve a deadlock in CBA negotiations that had lingered for weeks, several members of the union’s executive committee, including WNBPA president Nneka Ogwumike, held an in-person meeting with league officials on Monday.
Rather than providing a direct response to the union’s proposal, which was delivered approximately six weeks prior, the WNBA showcased slides outlining some of the enhancements and advantages the league had already committed to including in the new agreement.
Some of those proposed changes included a supermax base salary of $1.1 million in 2026 that could swell to $1.8 million by 2030.
The average base salary for the upcoming season is projected to jump to $465,000 — up from roughly $102,000 in 2025.
Other proposed improvements from the league include more guaranteed contracts, two developmental player spots per team, increased performance bonuses and the introduction of salary cap exceptions for pregnant players and those who suffer season-ending injury, among other items.
The biggest sticking point in the negotiations, though, continues to center on revenue share.
Players are asking for roughly 30 percent of gross revenue share and a $10.5 million salary cap. The WNBA previously offered 70 percent of the net revenue share (which equates to roughly 15 percent of gross league and team revenue share) and a $5 million salary cap. It’s unclear as of publication whether the league changed those figures in their most recent proposal.
One source previously told The Post the WNBA didn’t believe the union’s late December proposal warranted a response because it was “essentially unchanged” from the previous proposal.
However, that sentiment — that the WNBPA’s most recent proposal was too incremental — was never expressed directly to the union at any point leading up to Monday’s meeting, sources said.
Both sides are feeling the time crunch, with the 2026 season scheduled to start May 8. If talks continue to drag on beyond this month then a delayed start to the season will likely be inevitable.
The two-team expansion draft, free agency and the college draft can’t happen until a CBA is ratified.
Oguwmike told the Associated Press, which first reported the new proposal Friday, that she believed a deal would come to fruition quickly once both sides agreed on a revenue-sharing model.
“We made the point that once we nail this, we can get everything else done,” Ogwumike told the outlet.