Will the WNBA’s CBA be a model for MLB in 2027?
Baseball may have something to learn, and gain, from this recent labor agreement
The recent WBNA labor agreement has some compromises that could serve baseball well as its CBA expires. | (Photo by Carlos Avila Gonzalez/San Francisco Chronicle via Getty Images) Last week, the WNBA established a historic seven-year collective bargaining agreement (CBA) that will run through 2032, paving the way for astronomical league growth. In what will be marked as one of the biggest breakthroughs in women’s professional sports, the WNBA has proven that league growth, competitive parity and expansion are not mutually exclusive.
MLB, on the other hand, is at a pivotal intersection of balancing competitive parity and league growth. The league is staring down an almost guaranteed lose-lose scenario with the current CBA expiring at the end of this year, and salary floors and potential ceilings are nowhere near agreed upon. If the league and team owners want to preserve as much of the 2027 season as possible, they may want to borrow one distinct element from the WNBA’s CBA: scaled player compensation.
In their recently-ratified CBA, the WNBA raised its salary floors and caps to acknowledge the league’s massive boom in the last five years. Maximum player salaries may grow to up to $2. 4 million, based on financial projections.
WNBA players are also guaranteed at least 20% of the league’s gross revenue, replacing the previous revenue-sharing model that required league revenue to exceed a specific threshold before players saw any returns. The increased player compensation corrects previous underpayments and sets a scalable economic system for future growth and league establishment, tying player salaries directly to league performance. MLB’s economic structure differs greatly, as revenue doesn’t automatically scale with league engagement.