Sophie Cunningham Calls WNBA A 'Laughingstock' As CBA Standoff Drags On
A three-hour meeting this week between the WNBA and its players union ended with still no resolution.
Sophie Cunningham is just as tired of the WNBA's ongoing CBA standoff as we are.
During the latest episode of her Show Me Something podcast, the veteran guard delivered a blunt assessment of the league's current situation, calling the WNBA a "laughingstock of sports" as negotiations with the players' union continue to drag on with no resolution in sight.
"We had a big old meeting this week," Cunningham said. "Negotiations are in process in hopes of getting (things) moving because it has not been moving at all. Both sides are kind of getting frustrated, but I know, us players are holding our ground, so it should be interesting."
Cunningham was referring to a roughly three-hour, in-person meeting held Monday in New York between the league and the Women's National Basketball Players Association (WNBPA) — the first in-person meeting between the two sides since the fall. Despite expectations that the session would finally move things along, it ended without a counter-proposal from the league.
"They volunteered that they did not have a proposal prepared at the top of the meeting," WNBPA president Nneka Ogwumike said afterward. "That kind of set the tone for the conversation because we were hoping to hear otherwise."
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Instead of negotiating new numbers, the meeting was spent with both sides explaining the reasoning behind their existing proposals.
As of Feb. 4, the WNBA season is scheduled to tip off in May, and the league has already released its schedule — despite no CBA in place, no draft completed and free agency currently frozen.
(Sophie Cunningham. Photo by Scott Winters/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
For Cunningham, who is a free agent this year, the frustration goes beyond stalled talks and into how the league is presenting itself publicly.
"At the end of the day, depending on where these negotiations go, like if you give these players what they want," she said. "You’re gonna get all the best players; therefore, you’re gonna win. Therefore, your ticket sales are gonna be up. Everything’s gonna be up. It sucks because how our negotiations are going, it’s like we’re the laughingstock of sports right now."
Sophie Cunningham Calls Out Cathy Engelbert
She also took aim at league leadership — specifically commissioner Cathy Engelbert — for what she described as a lack of visible support during the standoff.
"Anytime you’re in a position of leadership, yes!" Cunningham said. "But just like in a position to influence and empower other people. For some reason, our league doesn’t do that.
"Our commissioner, right now, even though we’re not agreeing on negotiations, we’re barely even talking at all. Like she could still go on other social media platforms and be like, ‘Hey, I believe in our product. I love our product.’ Because that gives off a different feel than just not saying anything and acting like we don’t exist."
(Grace Smith/IndyStar / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images)
The core dispute remains unchanged: revenue sharing and salary structure. The league's last proposal includes a maximum salary of $1.3 million, average salaries above $530,000, and players receiving roughly 70% of net revenue. The union has countered with a proposal tied to approximately 30% of gross revenue and a significantly higher salary cap.
The league previously said the players' desired structure simply isn't financially sustainable.
Meanwhile, the calendar keeps moving. And Sophie's right. It's beyond embarrassing at this point — both for the league and its players.