The 2025 “Unrivaled” season is in full swing right now. Laces BC is sitting pretty at the top of the league with an impressive 6-1 record. Kelsey Plum, who is playing for Phantom BC, is having herself quite the run, too, as she is putting up 21.3 points per game.
But recently, Plum has given everyone an update that has nothing to do with “Unrivaled.” This one’s all about the WNBA and the contract talks that have been dragging on for months now.
WNBPA and the WNBA Are Set to Have a New Meeting
According to a recent ESPN report by Alexa Philippou, Plum shared that the WNBA and the WNBPA are again meeting in person in New York on Monday. “I think we’ll learn a lot from this meeting. This is a meeting that, I think, everyone understands what’s at stake, timeline-wise,” Plum said as per ESPN.
Plum also explained that sitting across the table from one another helps clear up mixed messages and avoid misunderstandings that can easily happen over calls or emails.
“I think the thing is just sitting down and understanding the relationship and conversation, I think, is No. 1… Let’s be real: When we play telephone with people in our own lives, a lot of times things can get scattered, right? So to be able to sit down face-to-face and say ‘this is how I feel, this is how you feel, let’s see what we can do from there,'” Plum added as per ESPN.
This whole situation started brewing back in late 2024. It was when the WNBPA decided to opt out of its current agreement. So that move basically kicked off negotiations for a completely new deal that would have taken effect at the end of the 2025 season.
The players weren’t shy about what they wanted. They wanted significantly better pay, a much larger portion of the league’s overall revenue, and improved benefits across the board.
Initially, everyone expected a deal to be done by October 31. That date came and went with nothing to show for it. Then they pushed it to Nov. 30. Again, no dice. After that fell through, both sides agreed to give themselves another six weeks and marked January 9 on their calendars as the new must-hit deadline.
Around December, more details about the proposed framework began to surface. Reports suggested that average player salaries in 2026 could climb past $500,000, while even players at the lower end of rosters could earn over $225,000. There was also talk of boosting the salary cap to roughly $5 million in 2026.
This also had future increases tied to the league’s financial growth. After the January 9 discussions ended, things went quiet. According to USA Today, both sides agreed to a temporary pause through a moratorium.
However, the WNBPA and WNBA need to come to the same page soon. Analyst Rebecca Lobo has already warned that fan support might actually be running out.
“I’m worried the players might be getting to a point where they’re losing some of the support from the public. And I think that’s been a big part of this all along… I think some of it has just been the language and the verbiage and that sort of thing that we’ve heard from the players’ association,” Lobo said during an episode of “A Touch More” podcast.
What happens on Monday remains to be seen. The hope is that having both sides in the same room will bring clarity and finally move the process forward.
