It seems that whenever we see the WNBA in the news, it’s not related to the basketball product they’re putting out on the court, which is always solid. It’s usually about some sort of off-court drama. And that was the case again during the 2025 WNBA All-Star Weekend celebrations.
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The All-Star Game itself, which was won 151–131 by Team Collier over Team Clark, saw a ratings decrease from last year’s record high. But it was still the second-most-watched ever. However, a shadow was cast over the weekend as the ladies collectively decided to take a stand by wearing matching t-shirts during warmups.
The shirts read “Pay us what you owe us” and referred to the fact that WNBA players currently have a pretty brutal deal with the league. While most other leagues split revenue more evenly between the players’ association and the owners, WNBA players get only about nine percent. That’s roughly a fifth of what players receive in other leagues, which is why they chose to opt out of their CBA last year.
The deal will expire this year on October 31 if no new agreement is reached, so this is clearly a move by the WNBAPA to pressure the other side into returning to the negotiating table with a more reasonable revenue split moving forward. However, the league has not turned a profit since it was founded in 1996, so some commentators, such as Shannon Sharpe, believe the women should slow their roll.
“‘Pay us what you owe.’ That’s a slippery slope. From everything I’ve read, the WNBA has never turned a profit. So if I’ve never turned a profit—let me get this right—I’m losing money, but you want a raise? Something ain’t adding up,” Sharpe said on Nightcap.
NBA players receive between 49 and 51 percent of basketball-related revenue from the league. In the NFL, it’s a little lower, at 48.8 percent. On the ice, NHL hockey players get an even 50-50 split right down the middle for hockey-related revenue. It would stand to reason that the WNBA would follow this path, too.
Chad “Ochocinco” Johnson says that despite the lack of profit, a higher percentage of the operating costs should be going to the players. Aka, the product.
“Listen, pay em! Pay em what they owe! … I understand they get a very small percentage of the revenue that they do bring in. Pay them what you owe them, a little bit more than what they’re already making based on the revenue that they bring in. It’s not rocket science, it’s not complicated.”
We’ll see if the t-shirt stunt has the desired effect on the owners that the players are hoping for. We’re not sure how much leverage they really have here, however. Especially considering the rest of the league continues to disrespect and slander the main reason they would have any bargaining power in the first place: the biggest star in the league, Caitlin Clark.
She is making just over 78k a year right now. For context, that’s just above the minimum veteran salary for a player in the Canadian Football League. They could definitely use a pay raise, but whether they can actually get it is another story entirely.
