The WNBA and the Women’s National Basketball Players Association approved a 30-day extension of the current collective bargaining agreement, The Athletic and ESPN reported Thursday.
As the league and the union work on negotiating a new CBA, they faced a Friday deadline before the current agreement expired. The extension, initially offered by the league, runs through Nov. 30.
The extension comes after legal counsel for the players association said a new agreement was “not going to happen” by Friday’s deadline. The sport is in danger of a work stoppage in the absence of a new CBA.
Negotiations were extended during previous discussions in 2019, when both sides agreed to a 60-day extension before eventually signing a deal in January 2020.
The main point of contention in the ongoing negotiations is a model for salaries and revenue distribution. The league has accused the players of not engaging “in any meaningful way” on its proposals, while the PA has said the league has “retread a system that isn’t tied to any part of the business and intentionally undervalues the players.”
WNBA players were highly critical of commissioner Cathy Engelbert this past season, with Minnesota Lynx star Napheesa Collier calling the league’s leadership “the worst in the world” during a scathing exit interview in September. She also criticized Engelbert’s lack of relationship with the players.
Collier received support for her comments from WNBPA president Nneka Ogwumike and Elizabeth Williams, a member of the union’s executive committee.
–Field Level Media
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