As the 2024 season prepared the WNBA for a ‘massive’ influx of fans, the 2025 season handed the league a completely different experience—injuries to multiple star players. The list of injured players, including those out for a season, is huge, prompting the league to find a solution in the ongoing CBA negotiations.
Though the WNBA broke its attendance record without those injured players, the league should prepare to avoid such occurrences and find a solution. The league and players’ association could work on one solution in the ongoing CBA negotiations.
WNBA Must Address The Solution To Players’ Injuries
In the 2025 WNBA Season, multiple superstar players, including Caitlin Clark, A’ja Wilson, Napheesa Collier, and Breanna Stewart, got injured. Apart from CC, other players returned to the action, while there is still no timeline for the Fever guard’s return. Above these stars, players like Courtney Vadersloot, Katie Samuelson, Sophie Cunningham, JJ Quinerly, and many others are out for a season.
This massive injury list puts pressure on the respective rosters and kills competition and excitement in games. While the WNBA announced three new franchises by 2030, the players’ issues should be the prime concern for the ‘W’.
There is one possible solution with two implementation methods for the injury concerns. Every team has a permissible roster size of 12 players, while they often freeze the roster after 11 to stay under the salary cap. So, increasing the roster size and salary cap would give the franchises more options and decrease the number on the injury list.
If the salary cap is non-negotiable, then a method of contractual players—those who could play when called upon—would resolve the issue, but the roster space still needs some adjustment.
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With the congested schedule and fewer rest days, there is a higher chance of injuries. Looking at the current expansion plan, increasing the roster size should be one of the focal points of the discussion in the CBA.
Many Voiced Concerns Over WNBA’s Roster Sizes
This is not a new idea or sudden suggestion that would be in front of the league. The Los Angeles Sparks forward, Cameron Brink, who returned after 13 months from an ACL injury, pointed out the issues franchises face due to limited roster size on her podcast. Similarly, Angel Reese also talked about increasing the roster size in her podcast.
The NBA guests on their podcasts were surprised by the number of players on the WNBA teams’ squads. They even suggested that the league should look into a G-League-type solution to accommodate player injuries during demanding periods.
The current CBA deal expires on October 31, and the players are pushing for their demands. It will be interesting to watch the league authorities’ next step in finding a middle ground in the negotiations.