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WNBA All-Star and former Russian prisoner Brittney Griner told reporters that the Unrivaled league’s equity-based financial platform is putting pressure on the W to “do better” when it comes to impending Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA) negotiations.
Griner was speaking at a press conference for the new 3-on-3 women’s basketball league, which is set to begin play next Friday.
As reported at Bounding Into Sports, the Women’s National Basketball Players Association (WNBPA) opted out of the league’s current collective bargaining agreement. It will become effective in October of 2025.
The WNBPA is seeking an “equity-based” economic model. Unrivaled has boasted of such a model even before the players got into their first tip-off.
Unrivaled, co-founded by WNBA superstars Napheesa Collier of the Minnesota Lynx and Breanna Stewart of the New York Liberty, promises to pay the highest average salary in women’s professional sports league history.
They have financial backing from Ally Financial and some of the world’s top athletes. They state that they will provide six-figure deals, with all 30 players (on six teams) receiving equity.
A league spokesperson told Front Office Sports, “We believe Unrivaled is setting a new standard in the marketplace.”
Brittney Griner Warns The WNBA
Brittney Griner, the Phoenix Mercury star, would like to see the WNBA step up their game when it comes to the CBA negotiations. And she agrees – Unrivaled is setting the standard.
“Unrivaled is showing that you don’t need a lot of time to pool resources together,” she said, according to reporter Myles Ehrlich.
“Being happy with what we already have is not gonna fly [here]… it’ll definitely put pressure on [the W] to do better.”
Brittney Griner on upcoming WNBA CBA negotiations: “Unrivaled is showing that you don’t need a lot of time to pool resources together. Being happy with what we already have is not gonna fly [here]… it’ll definitely put pressure on [the W] to do better.” (Q: @AnnieCostabile)
— Myles (@MylesEhrlich) January 7, 2025
They might want to consider “being happy” that the league still exists.
Players were threatening a strike next year and demanding their “rightful share of business” just days after reports surfaced that the league was about to lose a staggering $40 million this past season.
Not Just Asking For better Contracts, DEMANDING It
When Griner says “do better,” she isn’t just talking about increased contracts, though that will certainly be expected after Caitlin Clark gave the league record ticket sales and viewership.
WNBA president Nneka Ogwumike laid out the plan in a statement.
“Opting out isn’t just about bigger paychecks—it’s about claiming our rightful share of the business we’ve built, improving working conditions, and securing a future where the success we create benefits today’s players and the generations to come,” she said.
“We’re not just asking for a CBA that reflects our value; we’re demanding it, because we’ve earned it,” added Ogwumike.
That comment, combined with Brittney Griner’s latest, seems to suggest the ladies of the WNBA are digging in, unlikely to cave on many concessions.
The implosion is going to be something to watch, considering what they’ve “built” is a sub-brand of the NBA that loses tens of millions every year and depends on subsidies from the men’s league.
Griner has come quite a way in the past few years. From a Russian prison to making demands of the WNBA.
Griner was arrested in Russia in February 2022 on drug charges for possessing cannabis oil. She was sentenced to 9 years in prison after pleading guilty, claiming it was an accident.
Griner was released in December 2022 as part of a prisoner swap in which the U.S. exchanged her for notorious Russian arms dealer Viktor Bout.
The ordeal also changed her from an anthem protester to an athlete who said wearing the Team USA jersey during the summer Games in Paris “means everything” to her.
