Napheesa Collier sends stark message to WNBA as CBA talks intensify

Jeremy Beren

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Napheesa Collier sends stark message to WNBA as CBA talks intensify image

Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images

Negotiations between the WNBA and the WNBPA over a new collective bargaining agreement are reaching a critical phase.

Though the sides have agreed to extend the 2020 CBA until Jan. 9, they do not seem any closer to reaching an agreement over what would be a transformational deal that reflects the league's significant evolution into a financial powerhouse over the past few years.

It is anyone's guess as to whether a new agreement will be reached in time -- or whether a large chunk of the 2026 league calendar is in danger.

For the WNBPA, the math isn't mathing, so to speak. Vice president Napheesa Collier made it clear that the league's offer of a new $5 million salary cap and $1.2 million maximum salaries was not going to work for the players.

Collier on Thursday shared a post from Associated Press reporter Doug Feinberg on X. Feinberg's post questioned the wisdom -- if not the logic -- of the latest proposal.

"Not sure how a 1.2 million max salary for a few players and 5 million cap would exactly work with 500k (as the average WNBA salary)," Feinberg wrote. "Also not sure how making players pay for apartments for six months would equal say going from 60k to 225k minimum salary."

As the WNBA flirts with the idea of removing team housing -- as well as a longer season and a pre-draft combine -- the gap it has with the players' union does not seem to be shrinking.

A simple repost from Collier gave voice to how the WNBPA is responding internally to the league's newest proposal -- and only time will tell as to whether the chasm can be narrowed in the weeks ahead.

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Staff Writer