WNBPA executive committee members Breanna Stewart and Kelsey Plum sent a three-page letter to WNBPA executive director Terri Carmichael Jackson expressing their “serious concerns” about how non-player union leadership is handling the negotiations for a new collective bargaining agreement, according to ESPN.
Tuesday’s stunning report highlights the growing tension inside the WNBPA ahead of the reported March 10 deadline to agree to a new CBA. If a deal is not in place by March 10, the 2026 season, which is supposed to begin on May 8, will not start on time, the league told the WNBPA and teams last month.
Growing discontent with WNBPA leader Jackson
Plum is the first vice president of the WNBPA, while Stewart is a vice president. In their letter, which was obtained by ESPN, the duo called for “a changed dynamic between our PA administrators and the players” and wrote “we do not feel like we have an adequate seat at the table in these negotiations.”
The WNBPA declined comment to ESPN, and reportedly held a meeting Tuesday to discuss the letter — which Stewart and Plum sent in mid-February — and the result of a recent survey sent to players.
Late last month, the WNBPA reportedly held a contentious meeting, which Jackson called “spirited, passionate, and at times tough,” in a letter obtained by Front Office Sports. Furthermore, a group of nearly a dozen powerful agents sent a letter to Jackson last week stating “our collective preference for transparency and coordinated communication” about the CBA negotiations, according to ESPN.
Jackson has been the WNBPA executive director since 2016 and oversaw the negotiations on the most recent CBA, which was ratified in 2020. The players opted out of that agreement in October of 2024, and it officially expired in January after multiple extensions. Over the last 17 months, the WNBPA and the WNBA have been locked in a contentious labor battle over a new CBA. The stalemate is now threatening to disrupt, or, in a worst-case scenario, cancel the 2026 season.
Stewart and Plum’s letter makes it clear that some players are not happy with the job Jackson and her staff are doing to get a new deal in place — while acknowledging that she wants what is best for the players.
“We are frustrated that we have not made more progress as we near the March 10 deadline, and we believe this is a result of a breakdown in communication between you and the Executive Committee and players more broadly,” Stewart and Plum wrote.
They went on to write that they have been “privy to details of these negotiations for less than two months, having first seen a proposal in January,” and have not received more information from union staff despite “repeatedly” asking for it. “Despite a year and a half of negotiations, we have not been meaningfully engaged,” they continued.
Here’s more from the letter:
“As we understand it, the Executive Committee’s role is to help shape the overall goals and priorities of the CBA and to serve as a bridge between your negotiating team and the broader membership — ultimately helping to secure player approval of any deal. Without access to the information requested above, the Executive Committee cannot fulfill this role, and players cannot be expected to engage meaningfully in a process they have largely been excluded from.
“When we and other players have attempted to express concerns about negotiations, we have been made to feel as though we are acting against the interests of the PA. Many other players across the league feel these same frustrations and have expressed them to us, but feel afraid or unable to speak out.”
Stewart and Plum added that this trend “has begun to create unnecessary divisions at a time in which a united front and informed player body are essential to achieve maximum leverage.”
Strike no longer on the table?
Notably, Stewart and Plum added that “We need to start being pragmatic in these negotiations and in how decisions are being made,” because they are “concerned about the impact that a standoff or work stoppage would have on the overall financial health of the league.”
In December, the WNBPA voted nearly unanimously to authorize the executive committee to strike “when necessary.” The WNBPA stated that 93% of players participated in that vote and 98% voted in favor of authorizing a strike if necessary. Some players have since changed their minds, and it does not appear that a strike is actually on the table.
“I want to play, and players want to play,” Plum said prior to the Unrivaled semifinals on Monday. “And so obviously we’re going to continue to negotiate and do everything we possibly can to get this done in a timely fashion. But obviously a strike would be the worst thing for both sides, because we are in a revenue [sharing system], so no revenue, no revenue to share.”
“I think that while we still are fighting for a lot of different things, we have to realize that the rev share is a win, especially just even coming from the 2020 CBA and the ones before that,” Stewart added on Monday. “Now, as the league makes money, we make money. And so when [Plum] talks about ‘I don’t think a strike is good for anyone,’ because as the league loses money, or if we have a delay, we also lose money.”
Latest WNBA offer
According to the Associated Press, the WNBA sent the WNBPA a new CBA proposal on Sunday night with a slight increase in the 2026 salary cap from $5.65 million to $5.75 million. Here are the full salary numbers:
“The salary cap in the first year would be $5.75 million — up 280% from last year’s $1.5 million. That would grow to $8.5 million by the sixth year of the deal. The deal would result in maximum salaries increasing by more than $1 million — from $249,000 to $1.3 million — and average salaries increasing from $120,000 to $540,000 in the first year.”
Overall, however, the league did not change its revenue sharing split. The league is still offering 70% of net revenue — that is, the revenue remaining when league-specified operating expenses are removed from the pot — over the course of the deal. The players, meanwhile, are still adamant on receiving a share of gross revenue.
The WNBPA’s most recent proposal would see the players receive an average of 26% of the gross revenue over the course of the agreement (with a $9.5 million salary cap in 2026).
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