New WNBA Contract: The Players Win!! [Merged thread] | The Boneyard

New WNBA Contract: The Players Win!! [Merged thread]

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Top players can now earn over half a million bucks per season. The salary cap per team rises more than 30% from this season onwards. Maternity benefits. Better insurance.

So for all those claiming that the money wasn't there, that the league just wasn't popular enough, that the game just wouldn't sustain higher wages, well, management just answered with a resounding "yes we can!"


"The WNBA and the players union have come to tentative terms on a new collective bargaining agreement, which includes a significant salary bump for the league's highest-paid players, going from an annual base salary of $117,500 to $215,000."

Good for the players! And good for management for stepping up!!
 
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Hope this makes it easier for the Sun to re-sign players.
 

bballnut90

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Top players can now earn over half a million bucks per season. The salary cap per team rises more than 30% from this season onwards. Maternity benefits. Better insurance.

So for all those claiming that the money wasn't there, that the league just wasn't popular enough, that the game just wouldn't sustain higher wages, well, management just answered with a resounding "yes we can!"


"The WNBA and the players union have come to tentative terms on a new collective bargaining agreement, which includes a significant salary bump for the league's highest-paid players, going from an annual base salary of $117,500 to $215,000."

Good for the players! And good for management for stepping up!!

Wow the owners/management came through big time. Good for them and for the players.
 

bballnut90

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Another thing to consider.....if rookie payscale increases significantly, I wouldnt be surprised if more college juniors (ex. Carter, Sabally, Walker) start jumping earlier to the league. Much different joining the league and making 70-90k in a summer than 40-55k like it has been in the past.
 
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Looks like the increases are mostly wrapped up in these bonuses. The base salaries don’t look to be increasing all that much.

Max salary going from 117,500 to 215,000, almost a $100K increase.

But salary cap only goes from $996,000 to $1.3 million. Not a lot of extra room for these new high salaries.
 
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Another thing to consider.....if rookie payscale increases significantly, I wouldnt be surprised if more college juniors (ex. Carter, Sabally, Walker) start jumping earlier to the league. Much different joining the league and making 70-90k in a summer than 40-55k like it has been in the past.

I was thinking the same thing. If the W is a lucrative place to play, then increases the pressure to go out and make the bucks ASAP. So Boston would be in a prime place to jump to the pros if she leads South Carolina to a NC this year. What more has she to prove? And would she be wise to remain a college player and risk a Morgan Tuck or Lauren Cox type of injury that reduces one's longevity and earning potential.
 
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I was thinking the same thing. If the W is a lucrative place to play, then increases the pressure to go out and make the bucks ASAP. So Boston would be in a prime place to jump to the pros if she leads South Carolina to a NC this year. What more has she to prove? And would she be wise to remain a college player and risk a Morgan Tuck or Lauren Cox type of injury that reduces one's longevity and earning potential.

Boston? I’m guessing the age requirement to enter the draft won’t change.
 
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Looks like the increases are mostly wrapped up in these bonuses. The base salaries don’t look to be increasing all that much.

Max salary going from 117,500 to 215,000, almost a $100K increase.

But salary cap only goes from $996,000 to $1.3 million. Not a lot of extra room for these new high salaries.

But that is just the first year. It's an 8-year contract, and the benefits and salaries are phased in.
 
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Boston? I’m guessing the age requirement to enter the draft won’t change.

But clearly there's going to be pressure on the league from the players. They might do more jumping to Europe/Asia instead of playing junior or senior years, then return to the WNBA in the summer after what would have been their senior seasons. That way they could pocket $200k or so before becoming eligible for the W.
 

Argonaut

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There just aren't enough teams for jumping early to be a safe option for many people. We know that if you aren't in the (roughly) top 15 players coming out of college and internationally, you practically have no chance to make it onto a WNBA roster after the veterans come back from playing abroad.

I also think until the rest of the travel and living accommodations are better and attendance numbers go up, you won't see too many people jumping into the league early. If you're in a top program, take that extra year of practice and finish your degree (because many of you will use it) while you're still chartering flights, staying in nice hotels and going to nice restaurants, and have a solid fan base supporting you.
 
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There just aren't enough teams for jumping early to be a safe option for many people. We know that if you aren't in the (roughly) top 15 players coming out of college and internationally, you practically have no chance to make it onto a WNBA roster after the veterans come back from playing abroad.

I also think until the rest of the travel and living accommodations are better and attendance numbers go up, you won't see too many people jumping into the league early. If you're in a top program, take that extra year of practice and finish your degree (because many of you will use it) while you're still chartering flights, staying in nice hotels and going to nice restaurants, and have a solid fan base supporting you.

But if you're one of those fabulous fifteen, then it makes sense to go. And if you're marginal, then all the more reason to try out the pro leagues abroad. Get tougher with better competition, all while earning real money. If it doesn't work out, then you can always come back and complete the degree....
 

Plebe

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Another thing to consider.....if rookie payscale increases significantly, I wouldnt be surprised if more college juniors (ex. Carter, Sabally, Walker) start jumping earlier to the league. Much different joining the league and making 70-90k in a summer than 40-55k like it has been in the past.
Did the article say anything about the rookie payscale? It talks a lot about the significant increases for the best-paid players.
 

Argonaut

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But if you're one of those fabulous fifteen, then it makes sense to go. And if you're marginal, then all the more reason to try out the pro leagues abroad. Get tougher with better competition, all while earning real money. If it doesn't work out, then you can always come back and complete the degree....

If it's 100% about money RIGHT NOW, then it absolutely makes sense to go to the pros early.

For some people, the money is the bottom line -- especially for those kids who feel that obligation to support their families ASAP. For other kids, I just don't see how that one year of income outweighs all of the benefits of another year in college (and finishing college) in a top 10-15 program.
 

bballnut90

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Looks like the increases are mostly wrapped up in these bonuses. The base salaries don’t look to be increasing all that much.

Max salary going from 117,500 to 215,000, almost a $100K increase.

But salary cap only goes from $996,000 to $1.3 million. Not a lot of extra room for these new high salaries.

The good thing is it likely separates the best players from the overpaid veterans regarding payscale. WNBA teams traditionally have had many players all hit the max salary, so you end up with people like Sancho Lyttle making the same as DT and Griner. With this new cap in place, my guess is that players like Lyttle will get around the same salary but the stars will get deserved massive bumps in pay.
 

bballnut90

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If it's 100% about money RIGHT NOW, then it absolutely makes sense to go to the pros early.

For some people, the money is the bottom line -- especially for those kids who feel that obligation to support their families ASAP. For other kids, I just don't see how that one year of income outweighs all of the benefits of another year in college (and finishing college) in a top 10-15 program.

If rookie salaries increase to around 70k for example, a player could theoretically make 70k for 4 months of WNBA season, then hop overseas and make 100-200k for another season. That's up to a quarter of a million dollars at 21/22 years old that they pass up for staying in college and getting a degree the may (or may not) ever use.

If I'm a player like a Sabally or Megan Walker, that'd be incredibly enticing to go after especially if I win a title this year.

Another factor, since collegiate athletes usually go to school year round, I wouldn't be surprised if some top players push through course work faster and try to graduate in 3 years if the incentives are stronger in the pros. We'll obviously see what happens, but lots of different directions this could go.
 

Wbbfan1

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The players and owners should have negotiated a planned expansion to add two teams in 2021 and two additional teams in 2023/24, if not sooner. This would open up more jobs for players and I think increase the popularity of the league. I would add a team to Knoxville and possibly Spokane. Obviously owners would have to be found, Knoxville would immediately be successful if in the Dispersal Draft included for Lady Vols players. Probably Parker could join an ownership group if she was interested.
 

bballnut90

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The players and owners should have negotiated a planned expansion to add two teams in 2021 and two additional teams in 2023/24, if not sooner. This would open up more jobs for players and I think increase the popularity of the league. I would add a team to Knoxville and possibly Spokane. Obviously owners would have to be found, Knoxville would immediately be successful if in the Dispersal Draft included for Lady Vols players. Probably Parker could join an ownership group if she was interested.

Problem is they should've had a Tennessee team years ago when they had a ton of pros in the league. The only major standouts in the league are Parker (who turns 34 this year) and Deshields (not the most popular based on how things ended). The rest are doing well as role players but aren't going to put butts in seats IMO. Putting in a team in South Carolina might be a better option considering SC's massive fan support and likely continued success for years to come.
 
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But clearly there's going to be pressure on the league from the players. They might do more jumping to Europe/Asia instead of playing junior or senior years, then return to the WNBA in the summer after what would have been their senior seasons. That way they could pocket $200k or so before becoming eligible for the W.
The new contract doesn’t change that - they could do it now. Suspect only a handful of elite underage players could go make much $$ overseas. The only ones I remember ever doing this are Epiphany Prince and Diamond DeShields, and I think Diamond just did it to get the h—- out of Tennessee - she certainly didn’t need the money.
 

Plebe

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If rookie salaries increase to around 70k for example, a player could theoretically make 70k for 4 months of WNBA season, then hop overseas and make 100-200k for another season. That's up to a quarter of a million dollars at 21/22 years old that they pass up for staying in college and getting a degree the may (or may not) ever use.

If I'm a player like a Sabally or Megan Walker, that'd be incredibly enticing to go after especially if I win a title this year.
I think the lion's share of the financial incentive for top prospects to declare early lies in the strong six-figure incomes to be made overseas, as opposed to a hypothetical 20k difference in the W.

I don't have a precise feel for exactly how much players make overseas, but I believe Sabally and Walker will likely command a quarter million or more in their first overseas contract, and I'm not sure the pull of a potential combined 320k in the first 12 months after college is that much greater than that of 300k.
 

psconn

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Great step forward for the players in general. This hurts Connecticut though. The long time problem of keeping talent in sleepy Uncasville just got worse.

I'm afraid the very small window of opportunity that the Sun failed to capitalize on last year may have just closed for the long haul.
 

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