Mar 15, 2026
3 min read
Players union president Nneka Ogwumike said the division of club-funded revenue and facilities were two key factors in reaching a new collective bargaining agreement with the WNBA.
Union president Nenka Ogomike: Revenue sharing and accommodations are major hurdles in WNBA CBA talks
NEW YORK (AP) - Players' union president Nneka Ogwumike says group-sponsored income sharing and housing are two key issues that still need to be considered in order to reach a new joint venture agreement reached by the WNBA.
The two sides square off for the fifth straight day on Saturday in hopes of finalizing the CBA in time to avoid possible delays to the WNBA's upcoming season.
These two key points will be discussed, as opposed to the secondary issues discussed in the past two days.
“It is very important for us to establish these two issues, which are the most important issues on the agenda today,” Ogwumike said between negotiating sessions that started at 1 p.m.“So we want to make sure we achieve that.”
Profit sharing will be the biggest hurdle to overcome.While the league's proposals always use net revenue – income after expenses – and the union talks about gross revenue – revenue before expenses.
When negotiations first began a year ago, the union asked for 40% of total revenue and that was down to 26% before Tuesday's marathon one-on-one negotiations.The league paid more than 70% of the net revenue to the players.
"We've talked a lot about sharing money, which is true, I don't want to call it the elephant in the room anymore. It's like, you know, we're going to talk," Ogwumike said.of women in W."
WNBA teams have been paying for player housing from the beginning, something the league hopes to change in the new CBA.
"We're trying to get into this transitional space where we're making enough money now to take care of it, but we're not in a place where we can take it out right away," Oguwmike said.
Before negotiations began Tuesday night, the union asked to continue paying players housing for the first few years of the new deal, but franchises would not have to pay housing for the highest-paid players in the final two years of the CBA, a person familiar with the negotiations told The Associated Press.The man spoke on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the negotiations.
At the same time, the league proposed that it continue to pay all players housing for next season and switch to only paying housing for rookies and lower-paid players, the person said.
The league will also pay housing for two developmental players added to teams during the CBA.
If those two key elements can be determined, the season will begin on time on May 8. WNBA commissioner Katie Engelbert said Friday night that they need to reach an agreement by Monday to avoid possible disruptions to the upcoming season.
"Will things be 24 to 48 hours later than a date that we put on a piece of paper so that everybody knows there's a basketball calendar here? Will things be 24 to 48 hours? Absolutely," Engelbert said."But before you start looking at, you know, can we open training camp, you know, things like that."
The league's first two preseason games are April 25 with Kaitlin Clark and Indiana playing New York and Golden State in Seattle.
“We had a pretty short preseason,” Engelbert said. “We have a preseason game scheduled for April 25. That's my first concern. These are some great games.”
Before the preseason games happen, there is a lot to do with the expansion plan for Portland and Toronto, as well as free agency for 80% of the league.The university program must also be done.
