Fever’s Caitlin Clark to participate in WNBA CBA talks with potential work stoppage looming

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When the WNBA and the Women’s National Basketball Players Association meet in Indianapolis this week for the first in-person negotiations about a new collective bargaining agreement since December, Indiana Fever star Caitlin Clark will be in the room. 

Clark, who is not a player rep for the Fever or on the WNBPA’s executive committee, confirmed Tuesday before her team’s game against the Connecticut Sun that she will still be involved in the meetings. She has played a major role in the league’s recent surge in popularity. 

“Obviously the meetings that are gonna happen in Indianapolis are gonna be really important, and although I’m not our team rep or on the committee, I’m still trying to understand and engage as much as possible,” Clark said. “It’s my second year in the league, but also this is a very important time for our league and where it’s gonna continue to grow. I’m certainly looking forward to those meetings and being in them and I think everybody in our league is to help these CBA talks continue to move forward. Should be very important for us on Thursday.”

In October 2024, the WNBPA opted out of the current CBA, which will expire at the end of the 2025 season. Both sides hope to have a new CBA in place ahead of the 2026 season to avoid interrupting the unprecedented growth the league is currently experiencing. 

Whether they will be able to reach an agreement, however, remains to be seen. Phoenix Mercury All-Star Satou Sabally called the league’s most recent offer a “slap in the face,” while New York Liberty All-Star Breanna Stewart said the players feel like they are being “ignored.”

“Absolutely frustrated,” Stewart said of negotiations earlier this month. “Anytime you go back-and-forth, you’re not expecting to hear that ‘yes’ on the first [proposal], but you’re expecting to have a conversation. They kind of just ignored everything we said.”

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The players have made it clear since the day they opted out that they are pushing for “transformational change” that goes beyond the salary increases that are a centerpiece of their demands. Notably, nearly every player that is not on a rookie scale contract will be a free agent this winter. 

WNBPA president Nneka Ogwumike is hoping the in-person aspect of this week’s discussions can help the process. 

“When you’re doing things via documents, when you’re doing things via proxy, whether it’s … our union staff and league staff, it’s different,” Ogwumike said per The Associated Press. “When you’re sitting at the table, things a lot of times, in my experience, you get done a little bit more efficiently.”

WNBA commissioner Cathy Engelbert has also been publicly optimistic about eventually getting a deal done. 

“We’ll get something done and it’ll be transformational,” Engelbert said. “These things take time… We want to have a fair deal for all, but it has to be within the confines of a sustainable economic model that goes on for 10 years,” she said. “We’ve had a few years of great growth … but we need to continue to make sure that we can fund the things that the players are asking for, that we want for them, too.”

The WNBA recently announced further expansion plans that will push the league to 18 teams by 2030. The three most recent expansion franchises — Cleveland, Detroit and Philadelphia — all paid a record-setting $250 million expansion fee. Starting next year, a new $2.2 billion media rights deal will kick in. 

The players want their fair share. 

“It’s interesting that there’s a $250 million expansion fee, and there’s no openness to have that be reflected in revenue share that goes to the players, especially as we’re experiencing growth,” Ogwumike said. “It doesn’t make a lot of sense to me, but we’re hoping we can get some clarity on that in Indiana.”

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A work stoppage is not out of the question if the two sides cannot come to an agreement. Minnesota Lynx All-Star Napheesa Collier mentioned the possibility as far back as March during an interview with CBS Sports, and the New York Post’s Madeline Kenney reported on Tuesday that the players are “bracing” for a work stoppage. 

If the 2026 season — which will see the Portland Fire and Toronto Tempo join as the newest expansion teams — does not start on time, that would be a worst-case scenario for everyone involved. 

This week’s meetings could change the long-term course of the league.  

This news was originally published on this post .

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