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WNBA Players Sent Powerful Statement to League With Blunt All-Star Game Shirts

The WNBA's biggest names sent a message to the league during All-Star Weekend.

Tim Capurso

Napheesa Collier and the WNBA All-Stars made a statement.
Napheesa Collier and the WNBA All-Stars made a statement. / Trevor Ruszkowski-Imagn Images

With the WNBA taking centerstage for All-Star Weekend in Indianapolis, the sport's biggest names are taking the opportunity to send a loud message to the league. After opting out of the current collective bargaining agreement this past fall, the league and the players' union have until October to come to an agreement on a new CBA to avoid a work stoppage.

Just a day after characterizing stalled talks with commissioner Cathy Engelbert and team ownership representatives as a "missed opportunity", the WNBA players seized the opportunity to send a firm message to the league as they were warming up for the All-Star Game.

The 'Pay Us What You Owe Us' shirts are a nod to the revenue sharing that has become a sticking point in the players' union's talks with the commissioner and ownership representatives. Thanks to the vast popularity of players like Caitlin Clark, Napheesa Collier and A'ja Wilson, to name a few, the WNBA has enjoyed perhaps its most prosperous era in terms of ticket sales and TV ratings, resulting in the league scoring a media rights deal in the billions this past July.

But the players feel they are not receiving a fair share of that revenue the league is bringing in. In addition to revenue sharing, salaries, pensions, and child care and family planning benefits are among the issues the players and the league will need to come to an agreement on.

Currently, the two sides are seeing the most agreement on family planning and retirement benefits. But, there remains work to be done on revenue sharing, salaries and prioritization.

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Tim Capurso
TIM CAPURSO

Tim Capurso is a staff writer on the Breaking and Trending News team at Sports Illustrated. Prior to joining SI in November 2023, he wrote for RotoBaller and ClutchPoints, where he was the lead editor for MLB, college football and NFL coverage. A lifelong Yankees and Giants fan, Capurso grew up just outside New York City and now lives near Philadelphia. When he's not writing, he enjoys reading, exercising and spending time with his family, including his three-legged cat Willow, who, unfortunately, is an Eagles fan.

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