All eyes “remain on the WNBA as it embarks on its next chapter and how effectively this new transformative” CBA can “shift this rocket ship to turbo mode,” according to Philippou & Shelburne of ESPN.com. The standard for what it takes to run a WNBA team has “never been higher.” The players are now facing “more attention, more scrutiny and higher stakes than ever before.” But for now, there is “excitement, relief and labor peace.” For the two dozen who held talks at the Langham, they are all still “enjoying the magic moment when after eight days and 100 hours of bargaining, they solved the Rubik’s Cube that shaped the league’s future.” For WNBA Commissioner Cathy Engelbert, the process of agreeing on a CBA had been “somewhat redemptive.” She had gone into the negotiations this fall “with a Q rating that bordered on toxic.” Owners “privately speculated” about whether NBA Commissioner Adam Silver “would have to replace her at some point or step in to do the deal directly.” But while Silver “stayed close to the negotiations, he let Engelbert manage the negotiations and the owners she served.” Over the final eight days, sources on both sides “credited Engelbert for helping find compromises on several key issues and getting the owners on board with the final proposal.” When the season opens this weekend, 31 players making million-dollar salaries will take the court. Rookie and No. 1 pick Azzi Fudd will make $500,000 this season -- double last year’s supermax (ESPN.com, 5/7).
FUTURE OF THE SPORT: WNBPA VP & Lynx F Napheesa Collier said “another huge part” of CBA negotiations “was the rev share.” Speaking on NPR’s “Morning Edition,” Collier said, “And that goes into money, but it also goes into what it means for the future of our sport. Changing what it looks like for not only my generation, now the people who are in it, but setting them up for the next CBA and the next one.” Collier said on calling out Engelbert amid early negotiations, “It was tense for a while, just between the players and the league in general. I think it was something that needed to be happened and it was something that furthered our CBA negotiations.” She added, “I am still happy that I did it and I think it had the intended effect of moving our negotiations along. I think an unintended consequence would be ... I never want someone’s personal life affected the way that it was for her.” Collier noted Engelbert “got a lot of backlash for that. And what I was talking about was professionally. And when you take things personally, I think that was an unintended consequence for sure” (“Morning Edition,” NPR, 5/6).
