Players voted to authorize the Women’s National Basketball Players Association’s Executive Committee to ‘call a strike when necessary,’ the union announced on Thursday. The vote comes less than a month before the current CBA is set to expire on Jan. 9, 2026, following two previous extensions from the original Oct. 31 deadline.
“The players have spoken,“ the WNBPA said in a statement obtained by USA TODAY Sports. ”Through a decisive vote with historic participation, our membership has authorized the WNBPA’s Executive Committee to call a strike when necessary. The players’ decision is an unavoidable response to the state of negotiations with the WNBA and its teams.’
The WNBPA said the strike authorization vote resulted in 98% yes votes with 93% participation among players.
New York Liberty All-Star forward Breanna Stewart, who serves as a vice president of the WNBPA’s executive committee, said ongoing negotiations are headed toward a ‘standoff’ because ‘what we’re doing right now isn’t really working.’ Stewart even invited NBA commissioner Adam Silver to the negotiating table, one day after Silver said he’d be willing to join talks in hopes of getting a deal done to avoid a lockout or a strike.
‘We’re the ones that are willing to compromise and they still aren’t budging,’ Stewart said during Unrivaled’s media day on Wednesday. ‘If they’re not going to budge, we’re going to get to this point where we’re just going to be at a standoff. That’s kind of where we’re at right now.’
Stewart added, ‘We know how important as players it is to play and to be on the court. But at the same time, if we’re not going to be valued the way that we know we should be, in the way that every kind of number situation tells us, then we’re just not going to do something that doesn’t make sense for us.’
In a statement issued to USA TODAY Sports on Thursday, the league said the union’s account of events ‘fundamentally misrepresents’ ongoing talks, noting the WNBA remains ‘steadfast in its commitment to reaching an agreement as soon as possible.’
‘While we acknowledge the players’ right to authorize a future work stoppage, we strongly disagree with the WNBPA’s characterization of the current state of negotiations, which fundamentally misrepresents the ongoing discussions taking place at the bargaining table,’ the WNBA statement said. ‘It is difficult to understand claims that the league is resistant to change, particularly given that we are proposing numerous CBA modifications including significant immediate salary increases and a new uncapped revenue-sharing model that would ensure continued salary growth tied to revenue growth.’
The league added: ‘We have negotiated in good faith and with urgency, and remain focused on finalizing a new collective bargaining agreement that not only meaningfully enhances player pay, benefits, and experience, but also does so in a way that ensures the long-term growth of the game and the league’s capacity to serve the next generation of WNBA players.”
The players have prioritized two main points of concern amid negotiations — increased revenue sharing and salary structures. According to The Athletic, the league has offered revenue sharing at 15% while the union has proposed 30%. The sides also differ on how that percentage, as well as the salary cap, would be calculated.
The league’s latest offer includes a maximum $1 million base salary, with a projected revenue sharing component that raises players’ maxtotal earnings to more than $1.3 million in 2026, a person with direct knowledge of the situation told USA TODAY Sports. The person spoke on condition of anonymity because they’re not authorized to speak publicly about ongoing negotiations. The league’s maximum salary would grow to nearly $2 million over the life of the agreement.
The proposal also raises the league’s minimum salary to over $250K and the average salary to more than $530K, up from the current $67K and $120K salary, respectively.
The WNBPA said players ‘remain united, resolute and prepared to fight for their value and their future.”
‘Time and again, the players’ thoughtful and reasonable approach has been met by the WNBA and its teams with a resistance to change and a recommitment to the draconian provisions that have unfairly restricted players for nearly three decades,’ the WNBPA added in its statement. ‘The players’ vote is neither a call for an immediate strike nor an intention to pursue one. Rather, it is an emphatic affirmation of the players’ confidence in their leadership and their unwavering solidarity against ongoing efforts to divide, conquer and undervalue them.’
The news prompted a reaction from Washington Mystics forward Alysha Clark, who wrote on Threads, ‘Last time we stood on business we helped flip a Senate seat.’
Clark is referring to the WNBA helping Rev. Raphael Warnock get elected to the U.S. Senate out of Georgia in 2020 over incumbent Republican Kelly Loeffler, who co-owned the Atlanta Dream before ultimately selling her stake in the team in February 2021 following her controversial comments on the Black Lives Matter movement. Players openly endorsed Warnock and showed up to the arena on Aug. 4 wearing “Vote Warnock” T-shirts during the campaign.
The WNBA players pulled a page out of their handbook amid CBA negotiations in July and wore black pregame T-shirts that read, ‘Pay Us What You Owe Us,’ at the 2025 WNBA All-Star Game in Indianapolis.
“That’s something we wanted to make well known. In the bubble we always knew how to make a stand with some T-shirts, so we did that today,’ WNBPA president Nneka Ogwumike said in July. ‘We look forward to negotiating our fair share and our value.”
The USA TODAY app gets you to the heart of the news — fast. Download for award-winning coverage, crosswords, audio storytelling, the eNewspaper and more.