Breaking: WNBA CBA Signed
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The official WNBA Collective Bargaining Agreement is now publicly available on the WNBPA website. The CBA covers the 2020 to 2027 seasons with a mutual option to terminate the agreement after the 2025 season. The document has been signed by both the Players Association and the WNBA.
The agreement was announced with much fanfare on January 14th, 2020, including an appearance on Good Morning America, a press release, and a media conference call. It has been widely praised, including by Howard Megdal on our Her Hoop Stats podcast. There is no question that both sides are happy with the outcome of the negotiations.
However, the full text of the agreement has not been available until today. Many of the key people who cover the WNBA have been asking reasonable questions about the specifics of the deal, including our staff. At Her Hoop Stats, we are committed to digging into the minutiae of the CBA to provide you with deep insight into the details of the agreement in an easy to understand way. That will take significant effort and time and we will show our work along the way. We’re looking forward to dissecting the document together.
Highlights of a brief, initial review of the document include:
The 50-50 split of revenue does not cover all revenue. Instead, the league and players have agreed to share 50% of the revenue above specific targets. Previous reporting has estimated the players received in the vicinity of 25% of league revenues. Under the new agreement, the players will share equally in the growth going forward, but it is quite possible the overall split of revenue could turn out to be 30%, 35%, or some other value.
The incremental revenue shared with the players will be split equally into two parts. Half of the players’ share will be distributed to players on the roster in what is essentially increasing the base salary component of total cash compensation. The other half will increase the league marketing and promotional agreements but will not affect the team marketing agreements.
Players can sign maximum contracts after five years of service beginning in 2021. Under the previous agreement, players needed six years of service.
Existing contracts will not be renegotiated. As a result, players that are worth the max but under contract for 2020 will continue to earn the amount agreed to under the previous CBA. For example, Nneka Ogwumike will earn the previous max of $119,500 for 2020. However, Brittney Griner is an unrestricted free agent per the Winsidr Free Agency Tracker and eligible to sign for up to $215,000. That is an 80% higher base salary than the old max.
The exception to the above is that all players will earn at least the new minimum for their tenure. That can be either $57,000 for players with up to two years of service or $68,000 for players with three or more years.
The Fourth Year Option on Rookie Scale Contracts will be fully guaranteed if the option is exercised. Previously it was not protected. Now it “shall be fully protected for lack of skill and injury or illness upon the Team’s exercise of the option.”
The league marketing agreements will be negotiated directly with individual players and are capped at a total of $1,000,000. The league has the discretion to reach agreements with the players individually subject to the $250,000 cap for a single player and $1,000,000 in total. It will be interesting to see how those negotiations play out. The CBA only says “Such WNBA Marketing and Promotional Agreements shall be with players chosen, and at amounts determined, within the sole discretion of the WNBA...”
The team marketing agreements will be a minimum of $600,000 across the league each season of the agreement. The 12 teams are obligated to pay a minimum of $50,000 each season.
Teams can choose to exceed the minimums for the team marketing agreement up to $150,000 in 2023-2027. In 2020 through 2022, the teams can spend up to $100,000 on team marketing agreements implying a league-wide maximum of $1,200,000 for those years. Starting in 2023, teams can spend up to $150,000 or a total of $1,800,000.
Benefits paid to players such as the child care stipend or increased travel costs are not part of the revenue split. Such spending is an expense for the team but not considered a payment to the player for the purposes of calculating the total share of revenue provided to the players.
With more time, we’ll be able to offer deeper observations about the full agreement between the WNBA and WNBPA covering the next six to eight years. Look for more coverage on the WNBA CBA from both Her Hoop Stats and all the other great outlets that cover the WNBA and its amazing players.
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