Time is running out for the WNBA, and the athletes might have just realized the same. For a long time, the CBA deals have been getting stalled. Since the start of the season, players have been asking for better pay along with revenue sharing.
But as it turns out, the league leaders were not keen to listen to them. Venting out frustration, Breanna Stewart recently asked Adam Silver to ‘come to the table.’ After all, the situation has been utterly frustrating for the players so far.
With the CBA deadline pushed back twice now, things are looking quite bleak for the league. Thus, with the inevitable happening, the league might just be staring down towards a players’ strike.
WNBPA Authorizes Player Strike As League At Risk Of A Lockdown
Cathy Engelbert initially offered the players a couple of contracts. But nothing in those contracts abided by what the players wanted. In fact, the second contract was so bad that Natasha Cloud criticized it for eliminating team housing.
And now, as per the latest update, the WNBPA has authorized a strike. However, the lockout will not happen immediately as the committee will only implement the strike when it feels necessary.
“The players have spoken. Through a decisive vote with historic participation, our membership has authorised the WNBPA’s (seven-member) Executive Committee to call a strike when necessary. The players’ decision is an unavoidable response to the state of negotiations with the WNBA and its teams,” said the WNBPA.
Scroll to continue reading
Trending WNBA News
The WNBPA announced Thursday that its members have voted overwhelmingly to authorize calling a strike "when necessary" during the ongoing negotiations between the players association and the WNBA on a new collective bargaining agreement.
— ESPN (@espn) December 18, 2025
Read more: https://t.co/ct45v4R7CJ pic.twitter.com/6CEG6y5LQ0
Further details revealed that 93% of the eligible players cast a vote. And a whopping 98% of them leaned toward a strike. Surely, such news coming in will elevate tensions further for the league leadership. Meanwhile, with the situation seemingly getting out of hand, NBA commissioner Adam Silver stepped in.
Adam Silver Trying To Step In To Solve The WNBA Situation
With the NBA owning the majority shares of WNBA, Adam Silver technically sits at the head of Cathy Engelbert. Now, with the current situation looking extremely volatile, the NBA commissioner could not help but try to solve the matter.
“We’re available to do whatever is necessary to help get a deal done. We acknowledge that our players deserve to be paid significantly more than they have so far based on the increased success of the league and it’s just a question now of finding a meeting of the minds in terms of what is a fair deal,” said Silver.
Adam Silver on the WNBA CBA negotiations:
— Oh No He Didn't (@ohnohedidnt24) December 17, 2025
"We're available to do whatever is necessary to help get a deal done. We acknowledge that our players deserve to be paid significantly more than they have so far based on the increased success of the league and it's just a question now… pic.twitter.com/6GnWRz9JYJ
Thus, with things looking complicated, fans now want to see what happens next.