The collective bargaining deadline for WNBA players is approaching

The executive director of the WNBA Players Association told CNBC she remains “frustrated” by the lack of progress toward a new collective bargaining agreement as the league’s new deadline for reaching an agreement approaches.

“We’re a little disappointed with where we are now, but we’re sticking to our principles,” Terry Jackson, executive director of the WNBPA, said in an interview with CNBC Sport. “We’re staying open to the fact that these negotiations will continue, because they have to. We’ll stay at the table for as long as it takes, and hopefully there will be enough people on the team side who will start moving these things forward.”

Jackson told CNBC Sport she is continuing to negotiate with WNBA Commissioner Cathy Engelbert, her counterpart in the talks, on a new labor deal for the league. The labor contract, or employment contract, between the WNBA and its players expired on October 31, but the deadline for reaching a new agreement was extended to January 9 when the two sides failed to reach an agreement.

WNBA players are looking for big pay raises to capture a bigger share of the league’s revenue growth. The WNBA signed a media rights deal last year that resulted in a six-fold increase in revenue. The league and its players have been actively negotiating for months over issues related to salaries, benefits, working conditions and revenue sharing.

Jackson declined to give details about where negotiations stopped, citing the non-disclosure agreement, but added: “Everything still seems to be a sticking point.”

The WNBA’s latest proposal to the union includes increasing the salary cap to $1 million per season, with revenue sharing that could push that number to more than $1.2 million, according to a person familiar with the matter. Supermax’s current contract is just under $250,000 per year.

The new proposal would also increase the average annual salary to more than $500,000, and the league minimum is expected to exceed $225,000, the source said. Currently, the league minimum is just over $66,000.

As part of the proposed revenue-sharing agreement, players would see a pay increase each year. The terms of revenue sharing were a point of contention in the talks. The WNBPA recently proposed that players receive 30% of total league and team revenue, or more than double what the league proposed, The Athletic reported.

Jackson, who is leading negotiations on behalf of the players, said that despite the frustrations, the union still hopes to reach an agreement before the imposed deadline.

“It’s hard for us to understand why we disagree so much on the things that we should be closer to and that should be so easy, but it seems as though sometimes the league and the team come into the negotiating room with the mindset that equal pay is optional, equal pay is not optional,” Jackson said.

Jackson stressed that she is working hard to reach an agreement by January 9.

“Will there be another extension? There should not be another extension,” she said. He added, “There is no need for another extension. We understand their position and point of view. They understand our position and point of view.”

Jackson said that while the NBA is enjoying record growth in television viewership, attendance and sponsorship, the only thing that can stop this momentum is a business shutdown if the two sides cannot reach an agreement. Several WNBA stars have already expressed their desire to avoid any missed games. The WNBA season begins in May 2026.

Engelbert said in October that the league wanted to avoid a lockout.

“Caitlin Clark, Angel Reyes, Nneka Ogwumike, Nafisa Collier…they all said that and that it would be disastrous to stop working,” Jackson said. “No one wants to see that happen.”