Ignatius L Hoops
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http://www.espn.com/wnba/story/_/id/24247429/why-increasing-wnba-player-salaries-more-complex-think
Hours before taking the court for Saturday's All-Star Game, WNBA players met for breakfast and a civics lesson at a downtown Minneapolis hotel. The Women's National Basketball Players Association was announcing a partnership with Rock The Vote.
The players listened to a presentation about what they could do to increase voter registration and the dangers of voter suppression. Serious topics before the fun of an exhibition game, but there was something else heavy on their minds.
"Are we going to talk about the CBA, too?" Phoenix's Diana Taurasi asked.
With that, media were excused from the conference room, and the All-Stars and union head Terri Jackson discussed the WNBA's collective bargaining agreement for about 30 minutes. The current CBA went into effect in March 2014 and runs through October 2021. However, both the league and the union have the right to opt out and terminate the agreement after the 2019 season. Either side has until Oct. 31 of this year to exercise that opt-out provision...
...The almost year-round playing schedule has been the way things are since the WNBA began in 1997. With the relatively short window of an athletic career, players go overseas to earn as much money as they can. A lot of them have earned more in leagues outside the United States than they have in the WNBA, but that has always had its ups and downs, too.
Right now, agents acknowledge, the overseas market is down. A rule change in South Korea about the number of foreigners allowed has cut that number from 12 per team to six. One of the top teams in Turkey surprised everyone by folding recently -- after some prominent WNBA players signed contracts to play there this winter. They were left scrambling to find other jobs.
"Now, you have a handful of teams that pay really well, but the average salaries have gone down," said Ticha Penicheiro, a native of Portugal who played in the WNBA for 15 years before becoming a player agent. "And then you have a league like in France, which is run well and very professional, but their season goes into June. So players can't go there and be back in time for the WNBA season."...
...This season, the maximum veteran salary is $115,500, not including potential bonuses. The league minimum for a player with two or fewer years of service is $41,202; for three or more years of service, the minimum is $56,100. Rookies are on a scale from $40,000-$50,000.
Each team is allowed $54,000 in bonus money to award at its discretion to players for not playing overseas. Teams can give all the money to one player or spread it out among several. There are bonuses for awards such as league MVP ($15,000), All-WNBA first team ($10,000) and second team ($5,000). Bonus money for playoff appearances ranges from a little more than $1,000 per player for a first-round loss to just more than $11,000 a piece for winning the championship.
Hours before taking the court for Saturday's All-Star Game, WNBA players met for breakfast and a civics lesson at a downtown Minneapolis hotel. The Women's National Basketball Players Association was announcing a partnership with Rock The Vote.
The players listened to a presentation about what they could do to increase voter registration and the dangers of voter suppression. Serious topics before the fun of an exhibition game, but there was something else heavy on their minds.
"Are we going to talk about the CBA, too?" Phoenix's Diana Taurasi asked.
With that, media were excused from the conference room, and the All-Stars and union head Terri Jackson discussed the WNBA's collective bargaining agreement for about 30 minutes. The current CBA went into effect in March 2014 and runs through October 2021. However, both the league and the union have the right to opt out and terminate the agreement after the 2019 season. Either side has until Oct. 31 of this year to exercise that opt-out provision...
...The almost year-round playing schedule has been the way things are since the WNBA began in 1997. With the relatively short window of an athletic career, players go overseas to earn as much money as they can. A lot of them have earned more in leagues outside the United States than they have in the WNBA, but that has always had its ups and downs, too.
Right now, agents acknowledge, the overseas market is down. A rule change in South Korea about the number of foreigners allowed has cut that number from 12 per team to six. One of the top teams in Turkey surprised everyone by folding recently -- after some prominent WNBA players signed contracts to play there this winter. They were left scrambling to find other jobs.
"Now, you have a handful of teams that pay really well, but the average salaries have gone down," said Ticha Penicheiro, a native of Portugal who played in the WNBA for 15 years before becoming a player agent. "And then you have a league like in France, which is run well and very professional, but their season goes into June. So players can't go there and be back in time for the WNBA season."...
...This season, the maximum veteran salary is $115,500, not including potential bonuses. The league minimum for a player with two or fewer years of service is $41,202; for three or more years of service, the minimum is $56,100. Rookies are on a scale from $40,000-$50,000.
Each team is allowed $54,000 in bonus money to award at its discretion to players for not playing overseas. Teams can give all the money to one player or spread it out among several. There are bonuses for awards such as league MVP ($15,000), All-WNBA first team ($10,000) and second team ($5,000). Bonus money for playoff appearances ranges from a little more than $1,000 per player for a first-round loss to just more than $11,000 a piece for winning the championship.
