WNBA Players Have a Simple Request

The WNBA’s star players took action this weekend to demand higher pay. Just before the All-Star Game in Indianapolis on Saturday, players took to the court for their warm-ups wearing T-shirts that read “Pay Us What You Owe Us.” The message comes as the teams are negotiating a new collective-bargaining agreement with the league.

ESPN reported that two days prior to the All-Star Game, 40 players met with the league for another round of CBA negotiations. Despite a strong turnout from the players’ side, the meeting did not seem to produce any progress on a new contract.

“I think [Thursday’s] meeting was good for the fact that we could be in the same room as the league and the board of governors and that type of thing, but I think, to be frank, it was a wasted opportunity,” New York Liberty star Breanna Stewart told reporters. “We could have really gotten into a deeper dive of everything, but there was a lot of fluff that we couldn’t get past, and it sucks because situations like that aren’t gonna happen again because players are playing for different teams and different leagues and this is the only time to have a group together like this.”

As interest in the WNBA explodes — the league just announced three new teams over the next five years in addition to teams in Toronto and Portland debuting next year — the players are asking for higher salaries and a larger share of the revenue they generate. During a meeting on Saturday morning, players decided they would wear the shirts.

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“We wanted to do something that was united as a collective, and I thought that it’s a very powerful moment and got the point across,” Los Angeles Sparks player Kelsey Plum said. “Sometimes, you don’t have to say anything.”

The crowd at the Gainbridge Fieldhouse was supportive of the players, chanting “Pay them! Pay them!” while WNBA commissioner Cathy Engelbert gave postgame remarks.

For context, veteran players like Stewart and Plum make around $200,000 per season, while a star rookie like Caitlin Clark got only a $76,535 contract her first year with the Indiana Fever. Meanwhile, over at the NBA, this year’s No. 1 draft pick, Cooper Flagg, was offered a four-year, $62.7 million contract with the Dallas Mavericks.

The deadline for a new WNBA contract is in October, and it’s looking a little iffy as to whether either side will be willing to budge. In the meantime, the WNBA Player’s Association is now selling the “Pay Us What You Owe Us” shirts. Could be a fun look for you and all your co-workers to rock the next time your boss Zooms into a meeting from his summerhouse.