WNBA players, league far apart ahead of in-person CBA talks - ESPN

NEW YORK — The WNBA players union and league officials have much to discuss when they sit down this week for their first in-person talks as a group since December about the new collective bargaining agreement.

After sharing initial proposals, the two sides apparently are far apart in the early negotiations as they prepare for their first face-to-face meeting that includes the players executive council in Indianapolis on Thursday heading into All-Star weekend.

«We got a proposal from the league, which was honestly a slap in the face,» Phoenix Mercury forward and union rep Satou Sabally said.

Increased salaries, revenue sharing and roster size are three areas where the union expect to see major changes from the current CBA that will expire at the end of this season after the players decided to opt out last year. Nearly all the players who aren't on rookie scale contracts right now will be free agents after this season and looking for big salary increases.

Union president Nneka Ogwumike, who has now been a part of three CBA negotiations, is optimistic that Thursday's meeting could be beneficial for both sides since it's in-person. The two sides have had meetings over the last few months, but this will be the first time that all the players on the executive council will be there.

Ogwumike said «when you're doing things via documents, when you're doing things via proxy, whether it's… our union staff and league staff,» it's different. But «when you're sitting at the table, things a lot of times, in my experience, you get done a little bit more efficiently.»

The WNBA is experiencing unprecedented growth across nearly every business metric from attendance and viewership. There's also the new $2.2 billion media rights deal that