How the new WNBA CBA transforms player pay
Marketplace All-in-One
Marketplace
4.5 • 1.4K Ratings
🗓️ 7 May 2026
⏱️ 21 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
The WNBA’s 30th season tips off tomorrow. This year, things look a lot different for players after the league and players union recently signed a landmark collective bargaining agreement (CBA). On today’s show, The Athletic’s Annie Costabile joins Kimberly to break down how the deal has transformed the way players are paid. Plus, has women’s basketball ever really been given the chance to maximize its earning potential?
Transcript
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| 1:15.1 | Music or click the link in the show notes. Hello, everyone. I'm Kimberly Adams. |
| 1:17.5 | Welcome back to Make Me Smart, where none of us is as smart as all of us. |
| 1:21.9 | The WNBA's 30th season kicks off tomorrow, Friday, May the 8th, and it's been a little while since we checked |
| 1:29.1 | in on women's basketball and the business behind it. One major development, the League and |
| 1:34.7 | Players Association have finally signed this long-awaited collective bargaining agreement. Annie |
| 1:40.1 | Costable is here to Phyllisin on everything we need to know before the season tips off. |
| 1:44.6 | She covers women's basketball for the athletic. Annie, welcome to the show. |
| 1:49.3 | Hi, Kimberly. Thank you for having me. |
| 1:51.5 | So there were months of back and forth between the WNBA and the Players Association leading up to this collective bargaining agreement. |
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