Late last week the WNBA as a league opted out of its collective bargaining agreement. The Players Association did this in hope of being a new chapter of the WNBA. They want everyone to believe in their product like they do. There's a lot of talent in the league, and they don't want to settle for the status quo anymore, so they're going for it. This is kind of crazy, and it's going to take a little bit of time to come to an agreement, and nobody is quite sure how long it's going to take and what's going to come of it.
What does this mean?
The agreement the WNBA has was signed in 2014 and was set to be in effect until 2021, but the athletes wanted change quicker. The athletes are super invested in the league—they want growth—so they opted out. Considering a new agreement is required by the start of the 2020 season, the WNBA and CBA will begin negotiations shortly. It will give the athletes an opportunity to voice their opinions on where they want the league to be and how to get it there.
What are the athletes hoping comes out of it?
One thing they're hoping to improve is traveling. Right now, no WNBA teams are permitted to charter on a plane. The new WNBA format has teams traveling way more, going across the country and back, then back again in a super short period of time. The athletes find the accommodations for traveling are far from ideal, considering this season a game was canceled due to travel issues, along with the fact that most college teams charter when the situation requires it.
They're also going to push for more money. The salaries are something that many WNBA players are publically opinionated about. Often times, when the athletes speak out about this, people misunderstand their point. Some think that WNBA players want the million dollar contracts that the NBA athletes make. It's the fact that the NBA allots more, percentage-wise, of their revenue to salaries than the WNBA.
Probably most importantly, they want to discuss ways to share their product with everyone. How to create more of a fanbase for the league. Every year the viewership is increasing, but there is still a lot of room for growth.
Overall, the WNBA Players Association president, Nneka Ogwumike, and the rest of the athletes are tired of the status quo. In her Players Tribune article "Bet on Women," she explains her perspective as she and the rest of the association made the decision on behalf of the players in the league.
