The WNBA All-Star Game finished on Saturday, July 19, but the biggest storyline was not positive. The collective bargaining agreement (CBA) between the WNBA and the WNBPA will expire on October 31, and signs point to friction between the players and the league about a new contract.
Dave Portnoy Sides With Players Over the League
The league’s players have now found an unlikely ally in Dave Portnoy, the founder and owner of Barstool Sports. The controversial American businessman has voiced his frustration with the league and sided with the players.
Portnoy believes the WNBA is thriving and players deserve a much bigger share. He sees the financial arguments against player raises as weak, misleading, and deceptive. As such, he supports the players using their new leverage to push for better pay.
“I see lots of morons trying to act like WNBA players don’t deserve more money,” Portnoy wrote on X. “They are throwing around this “lost 50 million” number that nobody even knows where it comes from.
“The finances of the league are a mess, tied in with NBA and purposely murkey. The owners don’t want to say how the league is doing cause then you gotta pay more going into bargaining agreement,”
Portnoy says everything in the WNBA is exploding, from franchise valuations to ticket sales, merchandise, and TV rights. He points out that the value of teams alone could justify higher player pay.
“The players have an opt out in their CBA,” Portnoy said. “Of course they took it. It’s all about leverage in re-negotiations and for the 1st time in history of league players have power. The players make virtually nothing while the entire league explodes. Of course they deserve more money. Just the values of the team pay for it without all the other stuff.”
To substantiate his claims, Portnoy claimed that he would buy a WNBA team without giving a second thought for $250 million.
I see lots of morons trying to act like WNBA players don’t deserve more money. They are throwing around this “lost 50 million” number that nobody even knows where it comes from. The finances of the league are a mess, tied in with NBA and purposely murkey. The owners don’t…
— Dave Portnoy (@stoolpresidente) July 20, 2025
The WNBA players now seem intent on getting what they believe they are worth. They wore a T-shirt with “Pay Us What You Owe” during the warmups of the WNBA All-Star Game. Many players, including Breanna Stewart, have expressed dissatisfaction after their recent meeting with the WNBA regarding the CBA on Thursday.
The players also have the backing of the fans. Notably, the fans chanted “pay them more” during WNBA Commissioner Cathy Engelbert’s speech during the WNBA All-Star presentation ceremony. Angel Reese and Stewart, standing behind Engelbert, egged them on.
The WNBA players receive less than 10 percent of the league’s total revenue as salaries. This starkly contrasts with the NBA, where the players earn more than 50 percent.
While some, like Portnoy, believe that the WNBA players should earn more, detractors have often claimed that the women’s league doesn’t generate enough revenue or attention to deserve what its male counterparts make.
