The women’s team sports are on the rise at the moment, and leading from the front is the WNBA. The league recorded its highest growth in 2024, and last year, the trend continued to favor the basketball league. Seeing the opportunity, the WNBPA put up their demands in the Collective Bargain Agreement, which has now taken over a year to close.
Amid this, a recent Forbes report revealed 18-year-old pickleball star Anna Leigh Waters’ annual earnings are 40 times Caitlin Clark’s WNBA salary. While it was a huge shock to many, soccer dropped another major bombshell, which will definitely impact the WNBA’s talks with the players’ representative.
NWSL’s Contract To Affect WNBA’s CBA Discussions
Key demands from the WNBPA include revenue sharing and higher salaries, while keeping the original perks intact. NWSL’s recent mega contract showed Trinity Rodman earning $2 million deal that will keep her in the NWSL for a few more years.
The huge number not only eclipses the WNBA’s highest salary but also highlights the amount investors are willing to pay for famous, impactful players in sports.
Breaking: Trinity Rodman has signed a new three-year contract with the Washington Spirit.
— ESPN (@espn) January 22, 2026
Rodman's new multi-million dollar deal makes her the highest paid women's soccer player in the world, according to her agent. pic.twitter.com/C35PLepAyN
There are many factors that might have caused the WNBA-WNBPA stalemate, but the salary structure is certainly one of the major ones. During the WNBA All-Star game, players’ t-shirts also cried out the same emotions with the ‘Pay Us What You Owe Us’ slogan, hitting the league hard.
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Interestingly, there will be an important face-to-face meeting between WNBA representatives and WNBPA’s stars to iron out the terms, with an eye on the start date of the 2026 season.
WNBA Meeting With Players’ Representatives
On February 2, the WNBA and WNBPA will have a face-to-face meeting in New York. Amid the ongoing Unrivaled league and other leagues, it’s hard for all the players to attend the meet, but Kelsey Plum confirmed her availability with Napheesa Collier, while Breanna Stewart will also join via Zoom.
Kelsey Plum says there will be a player meeting with the league on Monday in NYC. Not everyone can make it but mentions Napheesa Collier will also attend. Hope is some owners will be there too.
— Alexa Philippou (@alexaphilippou) January 30, 2026
Plum hopes being face to face with management will help convos move forward.
Though fans want to see Caitlin Clark attend the CBA meeting, calling her the key piece to the discussion, Plum already warned the league about the meeting agenda. It will be interesting to see how the league navigates the current situation, with multiple factors working against it at the moment.