Kelsey Plum Doesn’t Hold Back on WNBA Players’ Bold CBA Move

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With the thrilling WNBA Finals between the New York Liberty and the Minnesota Lynx now over, the Women’s National Basketball Players Association (WNBPA) announced its decision to opt out of the league’s current collective bargaining agreement (CBA).

The CBA, which was signed in 2020, still has two years left, but the WNBPA felt that it’s the perfect time to push for a better labor deal, with the WNBA riding the wave of its growing popularity.

Game 4 between the Liberty and the Lynx was the most-watched WNBA Finals game ever on cable, with 1.7 million viewers, according to ESPN. The figure for Game 5 hasn’t been released as of writing.

With the increased viewership, record numbers in attendance and merchandise sales, a landmark 11-year media deal and the expansion to 15 teams in the next two years, the WNBA hasn’t been bigger.

With this, the players firmly believe that they have the leverage to push for an improved CBA.

Las Vegas Aces guard Kelsey Plum during NBA All-Star Saturday Night.

Kyle Terada-Imagn Images

“This isn’t some sudden wake-up call,” said Las Vegas Aces star and WNBPA vice president Kelsey Plum in a report from the Associated Press (AP). “It’s the culmination of what we’ve been driving for over the last several seasons.”

The WNBPA is angling for systematic changes, including higher salaries, better working conditions and various forms of benefits. If the union and the WNBA fail to find common ground, there could be a lockout in the 2025 season.

“We’ve played a key role in the league’s historic growth and now we’re breaking free from the current system to demand full transparency and an equitable stake in the business we’ve helped build,” added Plum.

For her part, WNBA commissioner Cathy Engelbert maintained in the same report that she’s “looking forward” to working with the players to create a new CBA.