With spike in WNBA viewership, players eye fair share of league revenue

WNBA players, fighting for top spot in the playoffs, are also gearing up to negotiate for higher salaries in the next round of contract negotiations.

The league’s popularity has surged this season, but pay hasn’t risen to match. A rookie salary for the 42-game season is $76,000, with a $200,000 base salary for the MVP. Yet the median NBA player salary this season was roughly $12 million. The NBA shares league revenues with its players roughly 50-50 – something advocates for WNBA players want the league to adopt.

“We’re not asking for the same salaries as the NBA,” Napheesa Collier, veteran star forward for the Lynx and 2019 rookie of the year, said. “What we’re looking for is revenue shares.”

WNBA salaries drive players overseas

For years, many top players in the WNBA have headed overseas to compete in the offseason as a way to supplement their salaries, according to The Women’s Sports Foundation, an advocacy group for women in sports founded by tennis legend Billie Jean King. 

Collier, along with Liberty forward Breanna Stewart, founded Unrivaled — a 3v3 league that will create opportunities for WNBA players stateside during the offseason. The league’s inaugural season will be in January of next year. Both Collier and Stewart have played for teams overseas: Collier in France and Stewart in Turkey.

In 2020, the WNBA and the Women’s National Basketball Players Association reached an agreement hiking the average annual compensation past six figures for the first time. Under the contract, which runs through 2027, players are paid an average of $130,000. They’re also guaranteed full salaries while on maternity leave.

Collier, who’s vice president of the Women’s National Basketball Players Association’s executive committee, will be headed to the bargaining table for upcoming negotiations between the league and the players. 

Caitlin Clark salary stuns fans

With an influx of attention on the league as players like Caitlin Clark and Angel Reese go pro, many are fighting for an increase in salary. Clark, who was the No. 1 draft pick, made $76,000 under the terms of the first year of her four-year, $338,000 contract. The figure is less money than someone paid for one of Clark’s basketball cards at an auction.

While the number shocked fans, University of South Carolina women’s basketball coach Dawn Staley called it “par for the course.”

“This has been an issue with every class that’s come out of college until now, Staley said, adding, “We’ve been fighting this fight for a very long time.”

Staley pointed out that the WNBA is a relatively young league when compared to the NBA. 

WNBA Commissioner Cathy Engelbert addressed the league’s financial situation ahead of this year’s draft.

“We are not going to jeopardize the financial viability of this league,” she said. “It was just a few years ago we were surviving and now we are going from survive to thrive.”

Shooting their shot for salary increases

As the league shifts “from survive to thrive,” some players are dreaming of seeing big numbers on their paychecks, including Indiana Fever center Aliyah Boston, last season’s rookie of the year. 

 “I mean, someone like me, I love multiple commas,” Boston said. “Just because we deserve it. We come in here night in, night out. We work hard. You see the viewership numbers up. You see everything up. I mean, I’m all for it, ’cause I love a comma.”

Collier acknowledged multiple-digits salaries would be amazing. But says she’s not sure it’s realistic. 

“That is obviously the goal,” Collier said. “And I hope that we can get there.”

WNBA lifestyle on the rise with charter flights, five star hotels 

While salaries have not yet reached the levels many aspire to, for the first time this season players traveled to games on charter flights. The Fever’s Boston misses earning miles when she flies, but said it’s been an amazing shift.

“I think this is great, too, especially for recovery. You’re able to get back on that plane, get right back home after a game,” Boston said.

She attributed the success to the women who came before her. 

“It’s like, this is because of you guys,” she said. “Like, you guys worked all this and now here we are. We’re able to step into that. And it’s a blessing for us.”

Collier recalls the old days of staying two-to-a-room on the road. Now she says they’re “living the life.”

“We used to have to stay in, like, the team accredited hotels and now we can stay wherever,” Collier said. “So a lot more five star hotels, which is nice.”