The WNBA is taking a slow time in dealing with the issue of a new Collective Bargaining Agreement or CBA, and one insider revealed the real status behind the scenes.
As revealed by ESPN insider Kendra Andrews, talks and negotiations within the WNBA have not progressed much and are not expected to have any significant progress soon, as the pace of negotiations has been slow so far.
“I think slow is a great word to describe it… There was hope that maybe we could speed this up, meeting face-to-face,” Andrews explained. “So many players showed up… hoping, okay, not only face-to-face, but like we have this power behind us… and so many players said it was really disappointing and wasted opportunity.”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8ebMi4xgnY4&feature=youtu.be
The WNBA’s collective bargaining agreement expires on October 31, and negotiations between the league and the Women’s National Basketball Players Association have accelerated, with revenue sharing as the central issue.
Players, spearheaded by union president Nneka Ogwumike, want a system where salaries and the salary cap grow based on a growing percentage of revenues that the league and teams generate, rather than the fixed annual escalations of the current agreement.
WNBA Ratings, Attendance Remain Strong Despite Star Injuries
The WNBA is enjoying another season of growth in both television ratings and attendance, even as several of its most marketable stars have missed extended time due to injury. Caitlin Clark, Breanna Stewart, Napheesa Collier, and Angel Reese have all been sidelined in recent weeks, yet ESPN broadcasts are slightly up from last year, and ABC games have surged 17% in viewership.
Attendance has also held firm, buoyed by the debut of the Golden State Valkyries, who have sold out every home game and are averaging more than 18,000 fans per night.
League parity and competitive play have helped offset the absence of marquee names. Minnesota has gone unbeaten in three games without MVP frontrunner Collier, extending its lead atop the standings, while Indiana has posted a 6–2 record over its last eight contests without Clark, who has been out for nearly a month with a right groin injury.
Clark, speaking on Sue Bird’s podcast, acknowledged feeling a “responsibility” to play given her role in attracting new fans, but vowed to continue traveling to every road game to support her team.
New York has navigated an up-and-down stretch without Stewart, who is targeting a return by month’s end from a bone bruise in her right knee, while Chicago continues to miss star Angel Reese.
In spite of these difficulties and challenges that teams face, it seems that the WNBA as an entire league is still doing okay in the area of ratings and viewership.
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Dan has been active in sports since 2016 and has worked behind the scenes as a scriptwriter for basketball, volleyball, and other sports. At a time, Dan has also been working as a sports commentator for CBA Pilipinas. During the pandemic, he has also been actively writing betting articles for CashBet and BetNow.
