Both teams at the WNBA All-Star Game wore T-shirts that read “Pay Us What You Owe Us” in response to ongoing labor disputes with the league.
Players wore the shirts during warm-ups and later held “Pay the Players” signs as, once again, the WNBA basketball action was overshadowed by activism taking center stage.
Caitlin Clark, the league’s biggest star by far, was absent from the game due to a groin injury but still took part in the protest as one of the coaches. What was most perplexing about the protest, however, was the set of demands the Women’s National Basketball Players Association was making, which have become the subject of much ridicule.
‘Like we asked for something, they came back with something totally different.’
Napheesa Collier, forward for the Minnesota Lynx and vice president of the WNBPA, said players were “disappointed” with the WNBA’s response to their demands.
“What they came back with is just nowhere near what we asked for. Or even in the same conversation,” she said, according to Outkick. “Like we asked for something, they came back with something totally different.”
Although Collier did not specify exact numbers, the demands were clear that players want salary increases and revenue sharing.
“That was what we had first sent them even back in February,” Collier reportedly said. “These are our two main points. And we’ve been really clear on that from the beginning.”
The idea of increased revenue sharing, while the league loses money each year, is exactly what has WNBA players at the butt end of online mockery.
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Video of the player protest garnered reactions on X like, “Pushing for a pay cut in an irrelevant league seems like a weird marketing move,” and, “They are right, it is time. League lost 25m last year so you gals actually owe $160,256.14 each.”
The critics are not wrong. Even with Caitlin Clark’s monumental 2024 season bringing in record viewership and attendance for the WNBA, the league still lost a reported $40-$50 million, depending on the source.
The simple fact that the WNBA loses money every year did not come up in a players’ association press release regarding their negotiations with the league. The union demanded a “rightful share of the business that we’ve built,” improved working conditions, and a requirement that the league “ensures the success we create lifts both today’s players and the generations that follow.”
The letter continues, “This business is booming — media rights, ratings, revenue, team valuations, expansion fees, attendance, and ticket sales — are all up in historic fashion. But short-changing the working women who make this business possible stalls growth.”
According to Outkick’s Amber Harding, WNBA players want an increase on their 20-25% share of basketball-related income and are even willing to go on strike over it.
“I mean, we’re on a time crunch, right? Like, no one wants a walkout. That is not what anybody wants. But at the end of the day, we have to stand firm, and we’re not going to be moving on certain topics,” Collier reportedly stated.
WNBA players are a year removed from their successful demand for chartered flights, which came with an estimated $25 million price tag when the league had 12 teams. That price tag could be around $27 million now that there are 13 teams.
As for the player salary increases, the average WNBA player makes more than some may think.
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Brittney Sykes, #15 of the Washington Mystics, holds a “Pay the Players” sign after the 2025 WNBA All-Star Game in Indianapolis, Indiana. Photo by Steph Chambers/Getty Images
WNBA players got a 53% raise in 2020 — the league did not make money that year, either — which increased the league minimum salary to $70,103.
According to DIRECTV, the average WNBA salary in 2025 is $147,745. In comparison, the average salary of a minor league baseball player is $62,000 per year, despite the MiLB generating $1.2-$1.5 billion per year (according to Grok AI) — and those players take the bus.
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