NEW YORK (AP) — The WNBA and its players' union were back negotiating for a new collective bargaining agreement Friday for the fourth straight day, hours after a 16-hour marathon session ended.
The two sides have spent nearly 40 hours discussing a new CBA since first getting together in-person Tuesday - the day the league had said there would need to be at least a handshake agreement for the season to start on time.
Thursday's long session spent more time focused on other items besides revenue sharing - the biggest sticking point between the two sides - according to a person familiar with the negotiations.
The person spoke on condition of anonymity because of the sensitive nature of the discussions.
The union leadership left negotiations early Friday morning around 3 a.m. EDT and the league departed soon after. They were back talking again by 11 a.m.
Revenue sharing has been the biggest difference on the two sides.
In the final proposal from Wednesday night, the league increased its salary cap offer for the first year to $6.2 million - up from $5.75 million in previous negotiations, a different person familiar with the talks told The Associated Press. That person also spoke on condition of anonymity because of the sensitive nature of the discussions.
WNBA Commissioner Cathy Engelbert said Wednesday that the last proposal from that night was a “real historic and transformational deal” for the players.
"Huge gains and salaries, benefits, everything you’re seeing, but beyond that when you see the whole thing, huge, huge benefits," she said. "We’re proud of the deal we have on the table. I think it’s, again, huge gains for the players, while again, balancing that with the health of the league."
Last year, the salary cap for each team was $1.5 million. Average player salaries were $120,000, and that figure stands to increase to $570,000 in the first year and $850,000 by the sixth year, according to one of the people. The maximum salary in the first year would be more than $1.3 million and nearly $2 million by the final year.
The league had said that at least a handshake agreement on a labor deal would need to be done by Tuesday to start the season as scheduled. Union president Nneka Ogwumike said Wednesday night the union never saw the deadline from two days ago as a real thing.
"We haven’t ever really considered that as a timeline that’s been something to prioritize on our side, because we have always been negotiating in good faith," she said.
When a deal is reached in principle, the league has said it would need a few weeks to finish off the CBA. After that work is done, the expansion draft for new franchises in Portland and Toronto would be held sometime between April 1-6, according to a timetable obtained by the AP.
Free agent qualifying offers, including franchise player tags, would be sent out April 7-8. Teams would then have three days to negotiate with the more than 80% of players who are free agents. The signing period would take place from April 12-18.
Training camps would open the next day and the season would be able to start on May 8.
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