INDIANAPOLIS — The WNBA All-Star Weekend represented the league at its peak: a massive mid-season showcase featuring the best players in the world, hosted in a city that has become synonymous with the rapid explosion of women’s sports.
But the celebrations took place in front of a backdrop of labor uncertainty. The league and the players’ union remain far apart in negotiations for a new collective bargaining agreement, with the current CBA set to expire on Oct. 31. With all eyes on the WNBA, the All-Stars emerged for pregame warmups Saturday to reveal a message on their shirts: “Pay Us What You Owe Us.”
The players had a breakfast meeting the morning of the All-Star game when they collectively decided to wear the shirts. The shirt is available for sale on the players’ union’s Instagram account, with all proceeds going to the WNBPA and the players.
After years of fighting an existential battle for the league’s survival, WNBA players enter this bargaining cycle with a rare power: leverage. The league is generating record revenue, it’s expanding, and it’s become part of the national consciousness. Now is the time for the players to cash in on what they have brought to the table. They want a business model that allows them to share in the WNBA’s growth and direct more of the revenue towards salaries and player experience.
“We see the growth in the league and as it stands, the current salary system is not really paying us what we’re owed,” said union president Nneka Ogwumike, a Seattle Storm forward. “We want to be able to have that fair share moving forward, especially as we see all of the investment going in, and we want to be able to have our salaries be reflected in a structure that makes sense for us.”
The league is in a period of hyper growth, as commissioner Cathy Engelbert illuminated in her annual mid-season address. Viewership is up 23 percent year over year, attendance 26 percent and merchandise sales 40 percent. Money is pouring into the WNBA — via media rights, expansion fees and other avenues — but players need to secure a piece of the growing business before the league enters a sustainability mode.
Their prominent message on one of the league’s biggest nights and their commitment to a united front show that the union understands its strength and is taking control of the narrative.
Doing so on All-Star weekend wasn’t just about getting all of the players in one room together, though the breakfast meeting, composed mostly of union leadership, couldn’t have happened if the players weren’t all in one place. The timing was also important for engaging fans when they were paying attention and when players were speaking to a nationally-televised audience on ABC. This effort allowed players to tap into the community that supports them and wants to help.
At a panel earlier Saturday, fans asked Dawn Staley, Sydney Colson and Kate Martin how they could make a difference in the negotiations. Fans brought “Pay the Players” signs to the game, and Washington Mystics guard Brittney Sykes displayed one visible on the broadcast behind Engelbert during postgame interviews. The crowd also drowned out Englebert’s speech with chants of “pay them.”
The WNBA All-Stars came out wearing warmup shirts that said, “Pay Us What You Owe Us.”
The players’ union met with the WNBA Thursday and came away frustrated with the economic model proposed by the league.
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“It’s huge to have the fans backing us,” union vice president Napheesa Collier said. “A lot of things are the court of public opinion, and it does matter what people think; they, of course, at the league recognize that as well, so adding that pressure is really great for us.”
Players are not new to public activism. As WNBPA first vice president Kelsey Plum said, this is a resilient group that was politically outspoken during the 2020 Georgia Senate race. They understand the unity it takes to achieve a desired outcome.
Fashion as a visual forum for protest is a familiar tactic. The Minnesota Lynx wore T-shirts that said “Change starts with us” and “Black Lives Matter” on the back after the police killing of Philando Castile in 2016. The entire league wore Breonna Taylor’s name on their jerseys in the 2020 WNBA bubble after she was killed by a police officer. And in 2022, the WNBA All-Stars changed into Brittney Griner jerseys at halftime to bring attention to her detention in Russia.
At a moment that is critical to determine their future, players don’t want to leave any stones unturned. They need participation from throughout the union, which is why a record number of players attended the bargaining meeting. For instance, Satou Sabally was unable to play in the All-Star Game but flew to Indiana on Thursday to attend the negotiations. Players must publicly apply pressure on the WNBA, using their collective, consistent messaging and their fan bases to rally behind them. They are preparing for a lockout, putting money away in case negotiations stall.
They are appealing to Engelbert’s legacy: Does she want to be the commissioner who presided over the most significant growth in women’s sports history, or the one who oversaw a work stoppage?
The wording of “owe us” on the T-shirts was clarifying. The players have talked about getting what is fair, but this was a crucial strategy change to signify that a piece of the business already belongs to them.
“We’re going to continue to push for everything that we’ve earned,” Liberty guard Natasha Cloud said. “The word ‘earned’ is something that needs to be highlighted. I think a lot of times you get told to just continue to take crumbs and be thankful for what we have, and that’s just not the case anymore.”
By hijacking a WNBA tentpole event, players expressed that they will not settle. They can’t afford to do anything less.
(Photo of Brittney Sykes: Steph Chambers / Getty Images)
