The WNBA has proven itself time and time again to be a league to watch and admire. Plenty of stars, like A’ja Wilson, Breanna Stweart, Napheesa Collier and Alyssa Thomas have graced the WNBA court.
In October 2024, the WNBA stepped out of its collective bargaining agreement. This is the contract that has all of the WNBA’s rules, salaries and benefits.
“This is a defining moment, not just for the WNBA, but for all of us who believe in progress,” players association president Nneka Ogwumike said in a statement in October 2024. “The world has evolved since 2020, and we cannot afford to stand still. If we stay in the current agreement, we fall behind.”
The players association felt they deserved better pay and benefits. On March 24, they signed a new CBA, which is breaking history.
When Caitlin Clark was drafted first overall in the 2024 WNBA Draft, she signed a contract that paid her $76,535 in her first year. That same year, Victor Wembanyama was the first overall pick in the NBA draft. He signed a contract that paid over $12 million in his first season.
Yes, the NBA makes a lot more revenue than the WNBA does. But players like Caitlin Clark, Angel Reese and Paige Bueckers have raised that revenue significantly.
For the first time in WNBA history, there was enough generated revenue in 2025 to have revenue sharing with its players. Each of the 13 teams received an extra $8 million to disperse among their players.
ESPN reported the average salary for players will be around $600,000 in 2026, versus $120,000 in 2025, with the minimum salary surpassing $300,000, versus $66,079 in 2025. Each team will now have a $7 million total salary cap, versus $1.5 million in 2025.
The first pick in the 2026 draft is projected to earn $500,000.
Because of the new agreement, teams will have to meet minimum standards by 2028 for practice facilities, which includes private medical and treatment rooms.
Besides getting paid, the players association was fighting for private practice facilities, which many teams surprisingly do not have yet.
The Chicago Sky originally practiced in a public recreational center in Deerfield. They play in Wintrust Arena, where the DePaul Blue Demons play, so the drive is quite inconvenient.
Principal owner Michael Alter, co-owner Nadia Rawlinson and team president Adam Fox finally proposed a new practice facility in July 2024 that will open in Bedford Park. It was originally set to open in December 2025, but they shared what the new facility will look like on Instagram in late February.
Sports Business Journal said the facility will include two full-sized courts, a weight room, a sauna and an infrared room. There will also be performance and recovery rooms, a doctor’s office, wellness rooms and a mother’s room and family room. Lastly, there will be a players’ lounge, a kitchen with a full-time chef, a content creation studio and glam stations “amid a spa-like setting” in the team’s locker room.
Oh to be a Chicago Sky player for a day to see what all of those things will look like.
Fox says that they expect the facility to be operational by late spring. If it isn’t open at least by the end of this year, then I’ll start to suspect this was all a bluff.
Only four WNBA teams have their own practice facilities — the Las Vegas Aces, Seattle Storm, Phoenix Mercury and Golden State Valkyries. The Minnesota Lynx and Washington Mystics share facilities with NBA teams and the Toronto Tempo practice at the University of Toronto. The Connecticut Sun, who are now moving to Houston, and Atlanta Dream practice in shared athletic complexes. Six teams are still either building their practice facility or are still negotiating.
There will be two new WNBA teams debuting this year: the Portland Fire and Toronto Tempo. On April 3, there was an expansion draft. In total, there will be 210 players in the WNBA, with 14 women on each roster.
The players of the WNBA thought it was their time to be recognized for the work that they do to make this league what it is. If they didn’t fight for better pay and rights, who knows what the future of the league would have looked like.
The 30th WNBA season is set to start on Friday, May 8, with the WNBA draft happening April 13.
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