WNBA and players' union closing in on opt out date for current collective bargaining agreement
The WNBA had a record year in terms of growth in viewership and attendance, and with that the players now want a bigger piece of the financial pie
NEW YORK (AP) — The WNBA had a record year in terms of growth in viewership and attendance, and with that the players now want a bigger piece of the financial pie.
The players union and league have until Nov. 1 to potentially opt out of their current collective bargaining agreement. It is likely that the players will decide to do so before the deadline as they have a list of wants, including increased salaries now that the WNBA has entered a historic 11-year media rights deal with Disney, Amazon Prime and NBC for $200 million a year.
Breanna Stewart said there's been meetings within the players' union, of which she is a vice president. She hasn't been able to make as many as she'd like with her team, the New York Liberty, playing in the WNBA Finals right now.
“They've been good, a lot of communication, things that we want to be better, the time is coming,” Stewart said. “It's a hard thing to navigate while the season is still happening. I think that we’re pretty much in a place where we know what we want to do.
