By: Reagan McLean
After the Minnesota Lynx’s loss in the Women’s National Basketball Association (WNBA) semi-finals, Naphessa Collier delivered a statement during her exit interview on Sept. 30 that shook the world of women’s basketball.
“We have the best players […] but the worst leadership in the world,” said Collier. The viewership and social media presence of the WNBA is considered the “golden era” of women’s basketball. Collier’s critiques of WNBA commissioner Cathy Engelbert and the negligence are justified. I agree with Collier’s statement since there have been significant signs of growth in the WNBA, and changes need to be made.
In Collier’s exit statement, she states, “[…] It’s the lack of accountability from the league office […] Year after year, the only thing that remains inconsistent is the lack of accountability from our leaders.” During Unrivaled, Collier had a meeting with Engelbert asking about the pay of Bueckers, Clark, and Reese.
Engelbert replied with “Caitlin should be grateful she makes $16 million off the court because without the platform the WNBA gives her, she wouldn’t make anything…players should be on their knees thanking their lucky stars for the media rights deal that I got them.”
Once other WNBA stars heard the statement that Collier made, they were all in agreement. Four-time MVP and three-time WNBA champion A’ja Wilson stated in the Game 5 semi-final press conference, “I was honestly disgusted by the comments Cathy made…I’m gonna ride with Phee always…we gotta stand on business as we continue to talk about this CBA negotiation. Bueckers posted a photo of herself and Collier on her Instagram with the words “Queen Phee.” Reese posted on X, stating, “10/10. No notes!” Players speaking out about the issues in the CBA indicates that there is a common denominator for how everyone feels.
Currently, WNBA players don’t receive a lot of revenue from merchandise sales, ticket sales, media deals, and sponsorships. Front Office Sports reports that players only receive 9.3% of the revenue. However, WNBA players aren’t asking to earn the same amount of money as NBA players do.
Los Angeles Sparks Guard Kelsey Plum said, “We are only asking for a similar percentage of revenue that the men are getting.” By this, Plum means that the players are aiming for a percentage similar to the Basketball Related Income (BRI) that NBA players make, which is between 49% to 51%.
Seattle Storm player and WNBPA president Nneka Ogwumike addressed this during an interview, saying, “We’re not just asking for a CBA that reflects our value; we are demanding it because we’ve earned it.” During the 2025 WNBA All-Star Game on July 19, rookies and veteran players were seen at warm-ups wearing a t-shirt that stated “Pay Us What You Owe Us”. This t-shirt symbolized that changes had to be made in the CBA on the amount of money they were receiving.
With draft picks such as Caitlin Clark, Angel Reese, Rickea Jackson, Cameron Brink, Paige Bueckers, Sonia Citron, Kiki Iriafen, Saniyah Rivers, and Georgia Ammore entering the league, historic, record-breaking revenue is being brought, and high viewership. 2024 was the year that had the most-viewed regular season. A total of 54 million viewers across various channels, including ABC, CBS, ESPN, ESPN2, ION, and NBA TV. The 2024 WNBA Finals saw the New York Liberty win their first championship and the most-watched finals series in 25 years, with 1.6 million viewers.
Overtime, discussions have been circulating on if the WNBA is profitable. It has been reiterated that the NBA funds the WNBA. This idea is false since in 2024, the WNBA got a new media rights deal, involving Disney, ABC, NBC, and Amazon for 2.2 billion over the span of the next 11 years. This is a massive increase from the previous deal which was valued at around 50 million per year. With the possibility of the league also selling two additional packages for 60 million, the total is approximately 200 million per year. Since the NBA negotiated this deal, they also have talks going on with these networks for their own media rights as well.
For the 2025 season, fans continued to watch the league, thus increasing viewership. For ESPN networks, the 2025 season was the most-watched WNBA regular season with 1.3 million viewers. Meaning there was a 6% increase from last season. The Las Vegas Aces swept the Phoenix Mercury in the playoffs, with game one garnering 1.9 million viewers.
While the league has been failing to provide support for its players, Unrivaled was created. This league, founded by Breanna Stewart of the Liberty and Collier, is a 3×3 basketball league on a condensed court that allows players to have the opportunity to not only not have to go out of the country to play basketball, but can make way more money than the amount that the player makes during the off-season. “ We may have had the vision, but this isn’t just our league – it belongs to the players, and the Unrivaled model reflects that,” said Collier on the creation of Unrivaled.
According to Sports Illustrated, the regular maximum salary is $214,466; however, the super max wage, which a player can receive for the 2025 WNBA season, is $249,244. In Unrivaled, the average salary is approximately $220,000 – $222,222 per player, plus a minimum pay of $100,000 for all players. Playing in Unrivaled during the off-season means that you are making way more money within a time span of 3 months, especially if a player wins the Unrivaled Championship (a bonus of $50,000 per player) or wins the one-vs-one tournament ($250,000). With this type of salary, Unrivaled not only dismantles the prioritization rule that the WNBA has, but sets the bar much higher with amenities including: A “Glam Room” (in partnership with Sephora) for hair and makeup, a childcare room for mothers, and a content creation hub, to name a few. With these amenities, the players were able to create a space for them to be successful.
The Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA) is the contract that is shared between the WNBA and the Women’s National Basketball Players’ Association (WNBPA). The agreement typically includes salary caps, free agency, draft picks, and player contracts, among other provisions. The most recent CBA deal was made in 2020 with WNBA commissioner Cathy Engelbert and Seattle Storm player and WNBPA president Nneka Ogwumike and was supposed to last until 2027. The deal included additional cash compensation elements. Meaning that if a team won a tournament that happened during the WNBA season (in this case, the Commissioner’s Cup and participation in All-Star Weekend), they would get extra money plus their paycheck, as well as the runner-up and the MVP in the final game. The CBA also offered guaranteed premium economy seating on flights. Some flights are currently chartered; but in the new CBA, players are fighting for guarantee league-wide chartered travel to be provided since it is a safety issue and needs to be written. With the deadline pushed to Oct. 31, 2025, if the new deal is not agreed upon, there is a possibility of a WNBA lockout happening.
Furthermore, with the viewership of the WNBA increasing, more brands, companies, and people are investing in the WNBA and its players. With the value of the league skyrocketing every year, this shows that change needs to be made, or the golden era wouldn’t last as long.