The WNBA made a bold statement recently with the league's top players stepping on the court at All-Star weekend donning shirts proclaiming, "Pay Us What You Owe Us."
With the NWSL locking in a new landmark collective bargaining agreement recently, the WNBA's players, who opted out of their own CBA in October, are in the midst of negotiations with the league to continue moving professional women's spots toward equity.
At the heart of those negotiations are several key items, including an improved revenue sharing model, increased salaries and improved salary structures, benefits, and from a league perspective, prioritization.
With the PWHL, the world's top women's hockey league, is set to enter their third year of their eight-year CBA, one that does not include revenue sharing. What the WNBA manages to hammer out for their agreement, will set the stage, along with the NWSL"s agreement, for any future renegotiation of the PWHL's CBA.
“We get a very tiny percentage of all the money that’s made through the WNBA, which obviously is made through the entertainment we provide,” Napheesa Collier told The Associated Press regarding the decision to wear the shirts. “So we want a fair and reasonable percentage of that.”
The league and player met last Thursday, but the sides remain separated on several issues. The sides reported that items includes retirement benefits, another element completely absent in the PWHL's collective agreement, and family planning seem to be aligned.
The WNBA would also like players to further "prioritize" the league as many players head overseas to compete in leagues in Europe, Asia, and Australia to earn more money. Signed PWHL players are currently not permitted to compete in European leagues for the two months where leagues play overseas prior to the start of PWHL training camps. WNBA players want to be paid like full time athletes, before committing to only play in the WNBA. It's an issue for professional women's hockey players as well, many of whom still need to work second jobs.
Revenue Sharing Is A Game Changer
Currently the PWHL is one of few leagues without a revenue sharing model. When the PWHL secures a national broadcasting deal in the United States to go along with broadcasting deals with TSN and CBC in Canada, as well as Amazon Prime, the players will not benefit from what could mean tens of millions in revenue for the league. Similarly, should the league decide to bring in independent owners, shedding the current single-entity model, PWHL players would not see a benefit from the sale of teams or expansion fees. The WNBA knows the importance of revenu sharing, which is why it's at the heart of their current negotiations.
"Rev sharing is truly transformational," Kelsey Plum, a guard for the Los Angeles told ESPN. "We want a piece of the entire pie. Not a piece of part of the pie. We're a resilient group. We know the unity it takes to be able to [get] the outcome desired."
The WNBA recently inked a $2.2 billion media rights deal, and the league will hit 18 teams by 2030, growth that includes the three newest teams each paying a $250 million expansion fee. The players want a piece of this historic financial influx.
“This business is booming – media rights, ratings, revenue, team valuations, expansion fees, attendance, and ticket sales – are all up in historic fashion,” the WNBA players' union said. “But short-changing the working women who make this business possible stalls growth. The only thing more unsustainable than the current system is pretending it can go on forever.”
Whenever the WNBA agrees to a new CBA, it will help lay another brick in the future foundation for other professional women's leagues including the PWHL.
