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WNBA players made headlines at the All-Star Game with their outfit choice in pregame warmups. The group of talented hoopers wore t-shirts with the message “Pay Us What You Owe Us” across the front.
The movement has sparked a massive debate on WNBA salaries. The league is as popular as it’s ever been. Players want compensation to reflect it.
“We’re on a time crunch,” said team captain Napheesa Collier. “No one wants a holdout but at the end of the day, we have to stand firm, and we’re not going to be moved on certain topics.”
The WNBA is currently negotiating a new CBA. Players want fair pay.
On one side, the league has never turned a profit in its 29 years of existence. It operated at a reported $40 million loss last year.
On the other hand, popularity continues to grow with the introduction of young superstars like Caitlin Clark and Angel Reese.
Media has been weighing in on the WNBA salary debate.
Ryen Russillo broke down his view in a message on social media.
“It’s pretty simple,” he wrote on X. “If the Vegas Aces sell for $2m in 2021 and are supposedly worth $290-$310m now, why would you expect the players to receive just 9% of the revenue?
“The Valkyries expansion fee was $50m two years ago. Today expansion cost is $250m. In what other profession would someone as valuable as Caitlin Clark make only $78k?”
Jemele Hill echoed that sentiment.
Another thing I notice is that all the people saying what these women don’t deserve keep citing the financials from this year, conveniently leaving out that their new media rights deal kicks in next season and is $200 MILLION a year. The WNBA is adding multiple franchises because…
— Jemele Hill (@jemelehill) July 20, 2025
How much should WNBA players make?
The league wants to strike while the iron’s hot. Players are pushing to capitalize on their growing fame. Many believe the percentage of revenue share should increase, even if the league isn’t profitable.
Kelsey Plum led the charge on the t-shirts, though she immediately threw the league’s top superstar under the bus after the fact. An ill-advised joke, which may have stemmed from a nasty hangover, didn’t land.
Plum tried to backtrack. Unfortunately, the damage had been done.
“Zero members of Team Clark were very present for [the t-shirt talks],” she said, insinuating that Caitlin Clark wasn’t participating in the WNBA salary protest.
Clark has been doing her part.
“We should be paid more,” she previously told the media. “That’s something that’s probably the most important thing that we’re in the room advocating about.”
Natasha Cloud is asking for more.
Yall is it real life that we play already tomorrow😅💀
All star gotta start being an actual week.
— Natasha Cloud (@T_Cloud4) July 21, 2025
While others are protesting for more pay, Cloud pushed for more rest. She wants a longer All-Star break.
The WNBA season is 44 games long. The All-Star break started on July 17th. Cloud’s next regular season game is scheduled for July 22nd. She did not play in the All-Star Game on July 19th though she did win a skills contest during the week that came with a $55k prize.
Natasha Cloud wants a raise, as do many of her colleagues. She also wants more time off in a season that’s half the length of the NBA campaign.
She did reply to one follower saying that increased salaries would change her outlook. “If I didn’t have a salary cap, I would [shut up] and play,” she wrote in response to a comparison on the MLB schedule.
Cloud’s suggestion may carry weight given travel requirements of WNBA players. Her New York teammate, Sabrina Ionescu, agreed.
“I think [the All-Star Game] probably would’ve been more competitive if teams didn’t play in such a short amount of days,” she echoed. “That’s something we’re talking obviously, into our CBA, and understanding that All-Stars don’t really have a break.
“We finish, we get on a flight the next day, we’re here, jampacked weekend, wanting to pour into the fans, show up to events, do three-point contests, skill contests, and then play in a game and fly right back to practice and play in three days.”
The suggestion of a longer break seems to have momentum. We’ll see if this, along with the WNBA salary bump, is something that can be written into the new CBA.