WNBA players make a big statement "pay us what you owe us"

[Thavoiceofthevoiceless]

9% of basketball related income is outrageous no matter how much you slice it. Negotiations should start at 50% but even settling at 25% minimum is a big win.

40% should be the goal to settle on imo. The tv deal and expansion fee revenue and increasing popularity more than takes care of the money the players currently get. 1.5 million for a salary cap in a professional league is absurd. Quadrupling or even tripling the current cap and salary isn't asking for much with the increased revenues.

I never once said it wasn't. What I was stating is that they're being a bit naive in their negotiations as they're completely disregarding the NBA and all the other investors that helped keep them afloat all those years and put them in the situation they're in now.

The money they're making now doesn't help make up for the money people lost all those years trying to help them out and that's why they're not going to get as much as they think and want.

They're bringing sexism and emotions into a business decision.

 

[LV Koopa]

A

Again you’re missing my point dumbass if I own a company I automatically will now get a share of any profits. You don’t invest and get equity and say hey you’re profitable now pay me back what I invested that’s a loan not an investment.

It's clear you've never even looked at financial statements before or done anything more complex than pouring ketchup on the next order.

When you invest in a company you have several ways you can get "paid back". When you invest you can have shares, you can have contract agreements, you can have share splitting agreements - tons of things. If I have major equity in the Sparks and they've lost $200 million over 20 years, once the valuation shoots up and TV revenue turns them into say a $30 million/year profit center I can decide how I want my money depending on the agreement. I may say hey, $5 million(distribution) of that goes to me while retaining equity. This is how corporations work the world over with majority share holders.


Read that bolded CAREFULLY. This is how business works.

The real issue is how much should the investors get from this new TV deal without killing the growth of the league. 50% for the players may be too much and actually sounds outrageous until they establish a permanent presence. But 9% is a no go for the future. They can;t try to copy the NBA model because they don't have the NBAs golden goose that pushes revenue - multiple superstar players that can command billions of dollars. The WNBA has to be careful with giving the players too much while also making sure they don't give investors all the profits of the TV deal.

 

[MoshpitMazi]

Pay em

 

[Rekkapryde]

Why?
Nwsl is only 10 percent too

WNBA is growing considerably by all metrics. Ticket sales, Attendence, TV ratings, social media engagement are all up.


NWSL doesn't even compare

 

[MikelArteta]

WNBA is growing considerably by all metrics. Ticket sales, Attendence, TV ratings, social media engagement are all up.


NWSL doesn't even compare

Well they gonna have to sit for a few years to get what they want

NBA doesn't have to budge

 

[Rekkapryde]

LMAO

STOP

The NBA generated approximately $11.3 billion in total revenue during the 2023–24 season (which largely corresponds to the 2024 calendar year) nba.com+2sportsvalue.com.br+2sportsvalue.com.br+2.

To give you a more comprehensive view:

• According to talkSPORT citing Statista, the league brought in $11.34 billion in the 2023–24 season talksport.com.
• A June 2025 report confirmed that NBA teams collectively surpassed $11.3 billion in revenues for 2024sportsvalue.com.br.
• Coverage in El País estimated revenues around €12 billion, which is consistent with the dollar figure once exchange rates are considered

Breh is right. Owners stay lying about "losing" money. The shyt they claim and manipulate as expenses to show a loss is comical.

 

[Saysumthinfunnymike]

THE PLAYERS WERE THE ONES ASKING FOR ALL THOSE ACCOMODATIONS!

The players were "asking" for expansion costs and marketing? That's what the league should be doing... It's sad that the players have had to market themselves. Angel Reese has sponsor deals because of her social media presence more so than anything the WNBA ever did for her

 

[Bigwhite2498]

I never once said it wasn't. What I was stating is that they're being a bit naive in their negotiations as they're completely disregarding the NBA and all the other investors that helped keep them afloat all those years and put them in the situation they're in now.

The money they're making now doesn't help make up for the money people lost all those years trying to help them out and that's why they're not going to get as much as they think and what.

They're bringing sexism and emotions into a business decision.

Yes and those investors will now reap the benefits. It would be dumb to start getting cheap now that the league is taking off. All a lock out does it hurt the league even more and hurt their investment even more.

 

[Rekkapryde]

Well they gonna have to sit for a few years to get what they want

NBA doesn't have to budge

Jumping from 9 to 50 isnt gonna happen and they know it. But even a minimum of 25% is a win. It's negotiation.

 

[dontreadthis]

Three expansion teams just paid 250 million a piece to join the WNBA. The Liberty sold a 20 percent share of the team valued at 450 million.

Now yes, the WNBA did lose 40 million dollars in 2024, but this is in large part due to the TV deal they are currently signed to, which in 2026 goes from roughly 45 Million annually to 200 Million annually.

This will result in essence in the league making money over night from losing 40 to a net gain of 115M just on the TV deal alone. Even if the game and ticket sales were to stop growing, and merch stopped selling, it would still be in the green.

The players don't want to be paid what the men are paid. They want 50 percent of league revenue, as opposed to the 9 percent they get now. They won't get that IMO, but they're well within their rights to ask.

The owners want to keep salary increases small, plus end athlete-owned offseason leagues like Athletes Unlimited and Unrivaled (which nearly broke even in its first year). Why the fukk would you side with the owners?

actually know the topic at hand instead of defaulting to calling them dumb b*tches for existing, brehs.

 

[badboys11]

They wouldn’t lose to an average high school team lmao tf they literally practice against college players

So why didn't the las Vegas aces accept the 1 million dollar bet to play one game against the Texas state high school champions last year?


Cause they know they getting spanked


They never hold exhibitions against men's teams despite the potential jackpots because they will lose and lose badly

Practice and an actual competitive physical game with stakes and an.active crowd are two different worlds

U mightve forgot about the women's national soccer team getting blasted by some high schoolers in 2017


That what it is, y'all think these women are real ballers instead of what they truly are, the equivalent of junior school boys


Even Google AI disagrees with you "a top WNBA team would lose to high schoolers due to significant physical advantages of the high schoolers"

This ain't tennis

 

[Big Boss]

Breh is right. Owners stay lying about "losing" money. The shyt they claim and manipulate as expenses to show a loss is comical.

 

[Peruvian Connect]

I never once said it wasn't. What I was stating is that they're being a bit naive in their negotiations as they're completely disregarding the NBA and all the other investors that helped keep them afloat all those years and put them in the situation they're in now.

The money they're making now doesn't help make up for the money people lost all those years trying to help them out and that's why they're not going to get as much as they think and want.

They're bringing sexism and emotions into a business decision.

You just a hater. Not sure about now, but a few NBA teams weren't making any bread, but I bet you ain't against the men getting 70m's a season. Ain't no way a professional athlete should be making less than an Amazon worker,

 

[Rekkapryde]

Atlanta Dream made 8.8 million in revenue last season while only spending 1.2 million on player salaries. Team is worth 55 million.

 

[Bigwhite2498]

Jumping from 9 to 50 isnt gonna happen and they know it. But even a minimum of 25% is a win. It's negotiation.

Exactly around 30% will still give the best players like a million and half to two million I think if the math is right