The WNBA’s newest proposal to the Ladies’s Nationwide Basketball Gamers Affiliation features a most wage in 2026 that includes a assured $1 million base, with projected income sharing pushing complete earnings for max gamers to greater than $1.2 million, sources advised ESPN on Monday.
Beneath the proposal, sources advised ESPN, the typical participant’s wage in 2026 could be projected to exceed $500,000, and the minimal participant wage could be projected to exceed $225,000. The wage cap would enhance to $5 million in 2026 and could be set in every subsequent yr primarily based on income development, sources stated.
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It’s unclear what the gamers consider the league’s newest proposal, however an settlement doesn’t seem imminent. Late Sunday night time each side agreed to an extension of the present CBA via Jan. 9, 2026. The union proposed the almost six-week extension, and the league agreed to it after initially asking for a 21-day one.
The brand new numbers replicate incremental will increase from the league’s final proposal that was reported by The Related Press and confirmed by ESPN on Nov. 18: greater than $1.1 million in complete compensation (base wage plus a income share element) for gamers on the max, a mean compensation of greater than $460,000 and gamers on the minimal incomes greater than $220,000.
A Nov. 23 league proposal first included a max base wage of over $1 million, a supply advised ESPN.
In 2025, the league’s minimal wage was $66,079, the supermax was $249,244 and the wage cap was $1,507,100, growing at a set price of three% annually beneath the settlement. The present deal additionally has a separate income sharing provision that grants direct funds to gamers if the league hits sure income targets, although that has but to occur largely due to the influence of the COVID-19 pandemic.
The WNBPA, although, have been pushing for a system wherein the wage cap, and thus participant salaries, are extra immediately tied to the expansion of the enterprise — reminiscent of within the NBA, the place the wage cap is immediately decided by basketball-related earnings (BRI).
Either side got here to the brand new extension — a bit longer than their final one in every of 30 days agreed to on the finish of October — hoping that it offers an actual runway to make significant progress towards a brand new deal, and ideally even get one accomplished earlier than Jan. 9.