Paige Bueckers Boils WNBA Players’ CBA Leverage Down to 1 Word
The WNBA is in its most pivotal point of the league's history right now, as the league office is currently negotiating with the players' association about the next Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA).
It doesn't seem that negotiations are going well right now, as a December 15 article from Ben Pickman of The Athletic conveyed that the two sides are "far apart" and that players are asking for more than double the share of revenue proposed by the league, which was reportedly around 15%.
Dallas Wings star Paige Bueckers sent a strong message about the ongoing CBA negotiations, saying, “We can do things off the court. We can bring more visibility and eyes,” Bueckers said. “[We’re in] the national media, on commercials [and] do large sponsorship deals with brands like Nike and Gatorade and stuff that has national, and even global, visibility. We’re more than just WNBA players and I think we want to get compensated as such," per a December 9 article from Myah Taylor of The Dallas Morning News.
“There’s things, as WNBA players and the WNBPA, that we’re standing firm on. I think that’s why the extensions are happening and the conversations are continuing to keep going past the deadlines. These deadlines will probably continue to keep getting extended," she added.
Paige Bueckers Stresses Player 'Unity' Amid CBA Stalemate
The next deadline for negotiations is January 9. While that's still a few weeks away, Pickman's report shows that there is still a ton of work to be done if the two sides are going to reach a deal before that point. And if they don't, unavoidable events such as the Portland Fire and Toronto Tempo's WNBA Expansion drafts, WNBA free agency, and preseason training camps could be impacted.
What's for sure is that the players intend to stick together through it all, which Bueckers conveyed when speaking with the media at Unrivaled on December 15.
"Unity is the best way to display strength, so for us to be together, all be on the same page, ask questions, get to understand what we are standing for," Bueckers said when ESPN's Kendra Andrews asked her what the benefits are of having so many players in the same place at Unrivaled as the next deadline for the CBA approaches, per an X post from Andrews.
"It's hard to do that during the offseason... for a lot of very strong women to be in one area and display that unity, it's really important. We want to take full advantage," Bueckers added.
Earlier today, I asked Paige Bueckers what the benefits are of having so many players in the same place at Unrivaled as the next deadline for the CBA approaches in January.
— Kendra Andrews (@kendra__andrews) December 15, 2025
Her response: "Unity is the best way to display strength, so for us to be together, all be on the same…
"Unity" seems to be the pivotal word for Bueckers right now. Perhaps so many WNBA players being under the same roof this winter will help facilitate this unity and get a long-awaited CBA deal done.
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Grant Young covers Women’s Basketball, the New York Yankees, and the New York Mets for Sports Illustrated’s ‘On SI’ sites. He holds an MFA degree in creative writing from the University of San Francisco (USF), where he also graduated with a Bachelor’s Degree in Marketing and played on USF’s Division I baseball team for five years. However, he now prefers Angel Reese to Angels in the Outfield.
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