Report: WNBA owners present modest CBA changes to players

The WNBA has at long last presented a CBA proposal to players, according to a report from Front Office Sports.

Following a six-week period of silence with no reported movement, league representatives met with players earlier this week to renew talks.

That Monday meeting, lacking from the players’ perspective due to the absence of a prepared counter-proposal from the league, apparently moved the ball forward enough to result in a proposed deal sent to the players Friday.

“They volunteered that they did not have a proposal prepared at the top of the meeting,” Seattle Storm forward Nneka Ogwumike said earlier in the week. “That kind of set the tone for the conversation because we were hoping to hear otherwise.”

Now a deal has been sent, but the concessions within the new document are deemed modest.

The changes include small shifts to the previously suggested revenue sharing percentage, along with the move to initiate team-provided housing for the players who need it, as well as an agreement allowing two developmental roster spots per team.

At last report, the two sides remained far apart on overall money. The players association’s proposal called for players to earn an average of $800,000 per year, while the WNBA proposal came in at about $530,000 per year. The latest reporting did not reveal whether the two sides have inched closer.

The owners and players have been in negotiations on a new labor deal since late June, with multiple deadlines having been passed and extended in the meantime.

The regular season is supposed to begin in May, yet the league schedule requires that an expansion draft — the WNBA has added the Toronto Tempo and Portland Fire — and free agency must occur beforehand. Furthermore, the league needs to conduct its amateur draft, currently scheduled for April 13, and take a break for the FIBA World Cup that takes place in September.

Free agency typically begins in early January. The current best-case scenario being outlined now points to March, though that is contingent on a deal being reached in the coming weeks.

The WNBA has never lost games to a work stoppage in its 29-year history.

–Field Level Media