Source: David E. Klutho / Getty
The WNBA‘s ratings and popularity have risen, and now the players are ready for salaries to rise as well.
The current collective bargaining agreement (CBA) expires in 2027, but the WNBPA has already opted out, which means the deal us up in the fall of 2025. So Angel Reese is putting the league’s brass on notice, saying that it’s time for the ladies to get their just due.
On a recent episode of her Unapologetically Angel podcast, she featured Dallas Wings star Dijonai Carrington. Carrington’s just a few years older than Reese, but she feels that the younger group of players were able to capitalize on their star power a bit earlier with lucrative NIL deals.
However, despite being part of the first generation of NCAA athletes to get paid, Reese is ready for a bigger check from the WNBA and not always having to focus on brand partnerships and endorsement deals.
“Yeah, the CBA is coming up. I can’t wait,” Reese said. “We deserve more. The women coming in next year are probably gonna be making more than us. I gotta get in the [players’ union]meetings. Because I’m hearing… If y’all don’t give us what we want, we sitting out.”
Carrington says she’s been in those player meetings and confirms that the current rookie salary—$76,000—will be going up in the next round of negotiations. She also says a strike could definitely happen if both sides can’t come to an agreement.
“Yeah, that’s a possibility. For real, it was kind of a possibility on the last one. But now, just with the leverage that we have right now. It’s just a time where women’s basketball is going crazy. It’s gonna be a time next year. But we deserve it,” Carrington added.
The players now want an equity-based model that will directly reflect the WNBA’s success, which includes fandom, ratings, and a staggering media rights agreement worth over $2 billion, with rights shared across ESPN, NBCUniversal, and Amazon.
But social media has taken issue with Reese’s threat to sit out, which caused her to clap back, tweeting, “I said wtf I said. And I’ll say it again.”
See how social media is reacting to Reese’s latest podcast episode above.
