Swish Appeal - The WNBA has a new eight year collective bargaining agreementBasketball is basketball.https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/community_logos/49391/swish-fave.png2014-03-10T08:00:02-04:00http://www.swishappeal.com/rss/stream/52444792014-03-10T08:00:02-04:002014-03-10T08:00:02-04:00WNBA CBA reflects need to limit offseason play
<figure>
<img alt="" src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/5bbhhAybhzIptzKBNoq5dvZIbaU=/0x129:4000x2796/1310x873/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/29776869/183468588.0.jpg" />
<figcaption>Hannah Foslien</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>WNBA president Laurel Richie spoke with media on Friday about the league's new collective bargaining agreement, including the importance of figuring out how to limit players' overseas play.</p> <p>It was clear from the beginning what the WNBA Players Association's priority was in collective bargaining negotiations with the WNBA's ownership: an expansion of rosters from 11 to 12 players.<br><br> They ultimately got that - plus undisclosed salary increases - in the recently finalized agreement, which WNBA president Laurel Richie discussed with media on Friday.</p>
<p>"We knew going in that that was very important to players," Richie said when asked about the financial implications of adding a player to the roster. "So we wanted to see if, through the process, we could create the possibility of a 12th player and we're happy that we were able to do that."</p>
<p>
<style type="text/css"></style></p>
<p>A WNBA spokesman clarified by email that teams are not mandated to add a 12th player, meaning that teams don't have to incur the extra cost that includes more than just the salary - as Richie mentioned during the call, "It is also the benefit of housing and a whole host of other things." As such, the league's hardship rule - which allows teams to sign additional players if their number of available players drops below nine players - thus changes only to require that a team must first fill their 12th spot before it applying for an emergency exception.</p>
<p>All-in-all though, the 12th player is a win for both the WNBAPA and front offices: the availability of an extra spot means more available jobs for players while the option of adding a 12th player gives teams a bit more flexibility, no matter how small, in holding on to fringe players who might help in the event of injury. Yet as much as that was an important negotiating point for the players, the league's priority was figuring out how to address the matter of players going overseas during the offseason to supplement their modest (by pro sports standards) WNBA salary.</p>
<p>"The notion of really trying to find a way to both recognize the overseas play but offer an incentive to players to limit their overseas play was very important to our ownership group," Richie said when asked about the league's priority during negotiations. "So for us that was a very important point and we're glad that we were able to reach an agreement in that area."</p>
<p>
<link rel="stylesheet" href="http://cdn3.sbnation.com/assets/3608425/mustreads.css"></p>
<p>Under the previous CBA with 11-player rosters, the <a target="_blank" href="http://fansided.com/2014/03/04/defense-wnba-interview-monica-wright/">league's average salary was $72,000 with the minimum being $36,570</a>. Overseas, a star player can make <a target="_blank" href="http://espn.go.com/espnw/news-commentary/article/7538075/wnba-players-cash-overseas">about eight times the WNBA's league average</a>. Although that obviously takes a toll on players' bodies - if only evidenced by the number of players who have missed WNBA seasons as a result injuries sustained overseas - there's no way the league can compete with the salaries players make overseas at this point in its development.</p>
<p>But the league has made an attempt in their latest CBA negotiations by offering players a time-off bonus if they choose to limit overseas play.</p>
<p>"That is $50,000 per team, per year," Richie said when asked about the time off bonus. "That can be one player, that can be more than one player. The only restriction or guideline is that the player agrees to limit their overseas play from 0 to 90 days. So we think that's a great way to, from our standpoint, acknowledge that there's a market for players going overseas and we wanted to offer an incentive for players to stay stateside or limit their overseas play during our offseason."</p>
<p>
<style type="text/css"></style></p>
<p>Richie was clear that they wanted to allow the teams some flexibility in how they use that bonus, however there remains a question about just how significant a factor this will be in accomplishing the owners' goal of limiting players' time overseas.</p>
<p>Although $50,000 would double the salary of lower-end players under the old CBA, it's still a fraction of what a good player can make while playing in foreign leagues. That fraction would be diminished if a team had more than one player who might benefit from the bonus. And with a apologies to the 11th (and 12th) players on the league's rosters, they're probably not a team's top priority: Swish Appeal has also learned that the bonus will count against a team's salary cap in the "Salary Cap Year" that it's granted, meaning that it's not something to be doled out lightly.</p>
<p>By no means will the bonus time off more attractive than playing for more than 90 days, but it's also worth noting that it's not hard to think of options that players have during the offseason that could make one a candidate for such a bonus.</p>
<p>As just a few examples, aside from being physically unable to play:</p>
<ul>
<li>Star rookies Elena Delle Donne and Skylar Diggins have spent their first WNBA offseasons <strike><a target="_blank" href="http://www.swishappeal.com/wnba/2014/2/14/5413226/video-nba-all-star-celebrity-game-arne-duncan-pass-skylar-diggins">wuppin on Kevin Hart </a></strike>doing charity and promotional activities for various causes. </li>
<li>Washington Mystics veteran Ivory Latta and Tulsa Shock wing Nicole Powell are assistant coaches for tournament-bound college teams. <br>
</li>
<li>Connecticut Sun guard Kara Lawson continues her work as an ESPN analyst.</li>
<li>Indiana Fever Tamika Catchings has just<a target="_blank" href="http://espn.go.com/espnw/news-commentary/article/7538075/wnba-players-cash-overseas"> decided to dedicate herself to the WNBA</a> this offseason.</li>
</ul>
<p>Assuming a team deems a player worthy of a bonus, there are certainly instances where you can imagine it being a reason to limit their foreign play.</p>
<p>In addition to incentivizing players to limit offseason play, the league is moving toward aggressively dissuading players from skipping WNBA commitments in favor of their more lucrative commitments.</p>
<p>This season, the league plans to implement "penalties" in the form of fines for players who miss any regular season or playoff game. Next season, the league will add penalties for missing training camp, not an uncommon occurrence as players wrap up their seasons overseas.<br><br> "As this unfolds there will be penalties for missing games - whether that's a regular season game or a playoff game - and not this year, but starting next year, for missing training camp, there's some repercussions for that," Richie said. "And that is for any reason. Whether that is playing for a team overseas or leaving in the middle of the season for playing wit a national team."</p>
<p>With the World Championships <a target="_blank" href="http://fiba.com/pages/eng/fe/14/wcw/p/system-competition.html">coming up in late September</a>, we could see the impact of that before the offseason.</p>
<p>The question that remains to be seen is how much this two-pronged combination of incentives and deterrents will actually help the league accomplish the goal of persuading players to limit their time playing during the offseason: which players will be interested in a bonus? Which players will teams be interested in giving a bonus to? How will the salary cap implications limit teams' decisions?</p>
<p>Obviously, there will be 12 different answers to those questions that we won't truly find out until the next offseason. But even the addition of the bonus along with a 12th roster spot is encouraging for those trying to diagnose the vitality of the league: the owners have agreed to create a framework for spending more in the interest of improving the product. And all the league needs to stay alive is committed owners.</p>
<p><i>For more on the CBA, check out<a target="_blank" href="http://www.swishappeal.com/2014/3/7/5480438/wnba-collective-bargaining-agreement-storystream"> our storystream with commentary and highlights of the agreement</a>. </i></p>
https://www.swishappeal.com/2014/3/10/5485828/wnba-collective-bargaining-agreement-time-off-bonusNate P2014-03-09T23:30:01-04:002014-03-09T23:30:01-04:00WNBA free agent negotiations begin Monday
<figure>
<img alt="2013 WNBA Finals starters Janel McCarville (left) and Erika de Souza are two of the league's top unrestricted free agents." src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/KylisIxqSwXp869GYCKzO4h4QPY=/0x5:4000x2672/1310x873/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/29769449/184002432.0.jpg" />
<figcaption>2013 WNBA Finals starters Janel McCarville (left) and Erika de Souza are two of the league's top unrestricted free agents. | Kevin C. Cox</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>After finalizing its collective bargaining agreement last week, the WNBA's free agent season can begin, but will do so in stages.</p> <p>The WNBA's<a href="http://www.wnba.com/news/wnba_agrees_on_cba_030714.html" target="_blank"> initial release about finalizing its collective bargaining agreement</a> announced that "2014 free agency negotiations and signings can begin", but a couple of more recent reports have offered a bit more detail.</p>
<p><a href="http://blogs.seattletimes.com/womenshoops/2014/03/08/wnba-board-of-governors-ratifies-cba-april-draft-date-to-be-released-this-week/" target="_blank">Jayda Evans of the Seattle Times reports</a> that teams may begin negotiating with their own free agents this week until the 16th; <a href="http://www.startribune.com/sports/blogs/249073791.html" target="_blank">Kent Youngblood of the Star Tribune reports</a> that there will be a negotiating period prior to teams being allowed to sign players.</p>
<blockquote>
<p>Teams can start negotiating with free agents on the 16<sup>th</sup> of this month, and can start signing them on the 20<sup>th</sup>. The big free agent on Minnesota's agenda, of course, is center Janel McCarville, who played such a big role in the team's success last season. Griffith said he anticipated no problems getting McCarville re-signed. "It was a situation that was good for both parties," Griffith said.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>So we still have a little while until player movement begins in earnest.</p>
<p>Either way, there should be more news - including the date for the 2014 WNBA Draft, as Evans reported - in the coming week after months of silence: in addition to free agent news in some form, Richie said that the date of the WNBA Draft will be announced in this coming week.</p>
<p><i>For more on the CBA negotiations, check out<a href="http://www.swishappeal.com/2014/3/7/5480438/wnba-collective-bargaining-agreement-storystream" target="_blank"> our storystream with details and commentary on the agreement</a>.</i></p>
https://www.swishappeal.com/2014/3/9/5489208/wnba-free-agency-2014-cbaNate P2014-03-07T17:07:29-05:002014-03-07T17:07:29-05:00WNBA makes official statement on CBA agreement
<figure>
<img alt="Elena Delle Donne was one of a number of star players who chose not to play overseas this offseason. Now they might have more incentive not to." src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/yb_-avznGWvMEV2kdH9WZ_I99C4=/0x74:4000x2741/1310x873/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/29671553/20130920_jel_sl8_035.0.jpg" />
<figcaption>Elena Delle Donne was one of a number of star players who chose not to play overseas this offseason. Now they might have more incentive not to. | Jerry Lai-USA TODAY Sports</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>The WNBA has made <a href="http://www.wnba.com/news/wnba_agrees_on_cba_030714.html?cid=wnba_12_twitter_L" target="new">its official announcement </a>about its new collective bargaining agreement.</p> <p>After media reports about an agreement last night, <a target="_blank" href="http://www.wnba.com/news/wnba_agrees_on_cba_030714.html?cid=wnba_12_twitter_L">the WNBA has officially announced </a>that it has come an agreement with the league's players on a new Collective Bargaining Agreement.</p>
<p>In addition to the announcement of a 12th player being added to rosters and that free agency can begin, the league highlighted the following points that include more detail on the new core player rules:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>The following are additional points agreed to by the WNBA and the Players Association in their new collective bargaining agreement:</p>
<p>-- A new "Time Off Bonus" of up to $50,000 that players can earn for limiting their overseas play to three months or less during the offseason.<br> --The number of times that a player can be subject to a "core" designation has been lowered from 5 to 4, shortening the path to unrestricted free agency for star players. (Each team can designate one of its players as a core player and receive exclusive negotiating rights to that player in exchange for an offer of a one-year, fully-guaranteed maximum salary contract.)<br> --The term of the agreement is eight years with both the WNBA and the WNBPA having the ability to opt out after the sixth season.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>Albert Lee previously looked at<a target="_blank" href="http://www.swishappeal.com/2014/2/24/5442386/wnba-core-player-designation-question/in/5244479"> the pros and cons of keeping the core player designation</a> and it's clear that at the very least the league is making an effort to enable more player movement by lowering the number of times a player can be cored.</p>
<p><i>For more details and commentary on the WNBA's CBA negotiations, check out <a target="_blank" href="http://www.swishappeal.com/2014/3/7/5480438/wnba-collective-bargaining-agreement-storystream">our WNBA CBA agreement storystream</a>. </i></p>
https://www.swishappeal.com/wnba/2014/3/7/5482754/wnba-collective-bargaining-agreement-2014-releaseNate P2014-03-07T00:30:39-05:002014-03-07T00:30:39-05:00AP: WNBA CBA finalized, awaiting owners' approval
<figure>
<img alt="" src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/zLMB_5GMjai2mkIODSYe43g6CmY=/0x0:4000x2667/1310x873/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/29633715/201301010_pjc_ad1_467.0.jpg" />
<figcaption>Brett Davis-USA TODAY Sports</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>The WNBA and the WNBPA have agreed to an eight year collective bargaining agreement and the offseason can now finally get into full swing.</p> <p>It was a protracted process, but the<a href="http://www.chron.com/sports/article/APNewsBreak-WNBA-and-players-agree-on-new-CBA-5295479.php" target="_blank"> league and the players' union have now agreed </a>to all major points in a new collective bargaining, according to Doug Feinberg of the AP. There is still one more hurdle, as the WNBA Board of Governors has to officially approve the deal and will decide on that Friday.</p>
<p>The main issue at hand in negotiations was roster size, where rosters have been at 11 players per team since 2009. Now, teams can have up to 12 players on a team which should help improve the quality of play throughout the league.</p>
<p>Another major change is that teams can now offer bonuses of up to $50,000 per team to players who play less than three months internationally. Here is what WNBA President Laurel Richie said on that issue.</p>
<blockquote>
<p>We were very, very mindful that at this point playing overseas is a reality for many of our players. We love the notion of the time off bonus which allows us to offer an incentive to players who may have the interest in limiting their play overseas. It's one of the really terrific things that came out of the negotiations.</p>
<p>From our standpoint and the players' standpoint it creates incentives to take a little bit of a break. It's good for them and the game.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>There are also some other minor changes, including a new revenue sharing agreement for the players, and the maximum number of years a player could be cored has now been dropped to four years from five. That may help facilitate more superstar movement in the league and make free agency more interesting over the long run.</p>
<p>Lastly, the WNBA or WNBPA can opt out of the years after six years, or after the 2019 season, but it could last until 2021 as well.</p>
<p>Assuming that the WNBA Board of Governors approves the deal, free agent qualifying offers will be allowed as of next Monday, March 10, and we can expect some teams make trades soon after.</p>
<p><b><i>We will talk more about details in the CBA once the deal is done. But I'm looking forward to seeing some player movement over the next couple months and am glad that there now is a light at the end of the tunnel.</i></b></p>
https://www.swishappeal.com/2014/3/7/5480380/wnba-collective-bargaining-agreement-reachedAlbert Lee2014-03-04T14:38:22-05:002014-03-04T14:38:22-05:00WNBA trade moratorium ends on Friday
<figure>
<img alt="" src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/dfsTiL6OErHNzJcYssc3F4uwD_M=/63x0:936x582/1310x873/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/29499327/20120522_ajw_al2_081.0.jpg" />
<figcaption>Kirby Lee-US PRESSWIRE</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>The CBA might not be finished - but according to Sue Favor of They're Playing Basketball, the waiting period for trades and contracts will expire this Friday at 11:59 pm EST.</p> <p>We still don't have a completed WNBA collective agreement yet, even though <a target="_blank" href="http://www.swishappeal.com/2014/2/28/5457636/wnba-bargaining-agreement-waits-for-final-signatures">both sides are in agreement in principle</a>. While the T's are being crossed and the I's remain to be dotted, Sue Favor at They're Playing Basketball gives us some good news.</p>
<p> </p>
<blockquote>
<p>The moratorium on WNBA teams signing new players, trading players, designating core players/giving qualifying offers, and on prospective players signing contracts/agreements with teams expires at 11:59 p.m. Eastern Standard Time Friday, March 7, 2014, a source told They're Playing Basketball today.</p>
</blockquote>
<p> </p>
<p>Don't believe me? <a target="_blank" href="http://hoopism.blogspot.com/2014/03/cba-trade-moratorium-expires-friday.html">Go over to They're Playing Basketball</a> and read it for yourself. As far as I'm concerned, the 2014 WNBA season begins early Saturday morning.</p>
https://www.swishappeal.com/2014/3/4/5470658/wnba-trade-moratorium-ends-on-friday-both-sides-still-working-on-cbaJames Bowman2014-02-28T14:34:32-05:002014-02-28T14:34:32-05:00WNBA bargaining agreement waits for signatures
<figure>
<img alt="" src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/zYO2mP3Y2lhqgOmDobGnM-cN6Uk=/0x0:1000x667/1310x873/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/29315481/20120522_jla_ae5_466.0.jpg" />
<figcaption>Brad Penner-US PRESSWIRE</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>According to Tamika Catchings, the new collective bargaining agreement is "a done deal". But no one has signed anything yet.</p> <p>Sue Favor over at They're Playing Basketball reports about the progress/holdup regarding the WNBA collective bargaining agreement. <a target="_blank" href="http://hoopism.blogspot.com/2014/02/wnba-cba-still-awaiting-final.html"> I'll send you over there to read the full article, but here are some choice quotes</a>:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>Once the agreement is signed, teams can acquire players and make trades. This is particularly significant due to one of the key points of the new agreement: teams will be allowed to have 12 players on a roster, instead of 11.</p>
</blockquote>
<p> </p>
<blockquote>
<p>The new CBA also designates salary cap changes in that 2013 figures are maintained. The salary guarantee will be $869,000, with a maximum of $913,000. The guarantee and salary cap will increase by two percent each year under the six-year agreement. Maximum annual increases in individual multi-year deals will increase correspondingly by two percent.<br><br> The third main change in the new CBA is around revenue sharing. Under the new agreement, if regular season average team ticket revenue exceeds a target amount or threshold, players will receive a percentage of the amount over the target.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>I'm sure there's more than one women's basketball fan who will be going through the CBA with a fine toothed comb, in addition to all of the agents and lawyers who are waiting. Go to the link above to find out more.</p>
https://www.swishappeal.com/2014/2/28/5457636/wnba-bargaining-agreement-waits-for-final-signaturesJames Bowman2014-02-24T14:37:07-05:002014-02-24T14:37:07-05:00Should the W get rid of Core Player Designations?
<figure>
<img alt="" src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/7zFd5vZ83JTvNmPPEivOmQHNtX0=/0x0:1100x733/1310x873/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/29110697/wnba_ball__2013.0.jpg" />
<figcaption>NBA Images</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>While much of the talk about the WNBA collective bargaining agreement (CBA) has centered around roster size, we now talk about another important part of the process which is on the core player designation.</p> <p>I know, I'm writing this while the CBA is being written out. But while the talk about roster size has definitely been important, this is another issue that I don't think has received enough attention.</p>
<p>In the last CBA, teams were allowed to give the core player designation to any one player who would be entering restricted or unrestricted free agency. In practice, this is almost always given to a player who would be an unrestricted free agent. The player in return gets a max-contract for at least one year, though the player and the team can always negotiate a longer contract. If the team does sign a cored player for a multi-year deal, then the core designation cannot be used again until that contract expires. Here's a <a target="_blank" href="http://wnbalien.com/2012/01/22/wnba-free-agency-lists-and-analysis-courtesy-of-wnbalien/">good plain-English assessment</a> on this from WNBAlien.</p>
<p>There are reasons why you can argue that the Core Player Designation should remain with the new CBA. First, this is because this helps teams retain their top players which should keep fans happy and also could help keep season ticket holders renewing. Second, cored players are also often among the best players on their teams, keeping them there also fosters stability of the roster.</p>
<p>There are also reasons why you can argue that the Core Player Designation should be eliminated. First, this can restrict star player movement, since front offices of teams could strategically time their coring in such a way so that the star players they have would be locked up early.</p>
<p>Second, because many star players in their prime can simply be cored, this often can make a free agency signing period a lot more vanilla than it could be if such a rule did not exist. With vanilla offseasons and free agency, there is less buzz around the league.</p>
<p>Third, if a team cores a player, that player could also just refuse to show up. Look at Deanna Nolan, who was cored by the Tulsa Shock in the 2011-2012 offseason and again in the 2013-2014 offseason though her rights were eventually traded to the New York Liberty. This is also a case where coring a player could backfire. To take a look at players who were given the Core Player Designation, <a target="_blank" href="http://www.wnba.com/news/player-movement-central-2013.html">click here</a> for the 2012-2013 offseason and <a target="_blank" href="http://www.wnba.com/news/playermovementcentral2012.html">click here </a>for the 2011-2012 offseason.</p>
<p><b><i>If you were able to make the call on this issue, do you think that the Core Player Designation should remain in the new CBA? Let us know in the comments below.</i></b></p>
https://www.swishappeal.com/2014/2/24/5442386/wnba-core-player-designation-questionAlbert Lee2014-02-15T13:00:42-05:002014-02-15T13:00:42-05:00WNBA, players' union agree to a CBA deal
<figure>
<img alt="" src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/62jp7WNtPl11mXOU9xYZE9j5M-Q=/0x68:4000x2735/1310x873/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/28661799/20130920_jel_sl8_036.0.jpg" />
<figcaption>Jerry Lai-USA TODAY Sports</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>It's an agreement in principle, with details later. The roster size will expand to 12 players.</p> <p>It's an extremely short article. <a href="http://www.therepublic.com/view/story/f5b363f15f684e80a9a2e9b21226d63b/BKL-WNBA-CBA" target="_blank">You can read it at the link,</a> but I'll quote the most important part of it.</p>
<blockquote>The WNBA and the players union agreed to a new collective bargaining agreement Saturday.<br><br>The new deal increases the maximum roster size one spot to 12.</blockquote>
<p><br><br>It appears to be an agreement in principle, with the full agreement left to be drafted. But all that's required is that both groups sign on it. We should have a signed document in a couple of weeks, and then free agency and trading is wide open.</p>
<p><b>UPDATE, 2 PM ET: </b><a target="_blank" href="http://espn.go.com/wnba/story/_/id/10461073/wnba-players-union-agree-new-collective-bargaining-agreemen"> ESPN now confirms the initial report</a>.</p>
<p>From the article:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>Owners will now be able to increase fines and penalties associated with overseas play when players can't fulfill WNBA obligations.</p>
<p>-Smaller increases in the salary cap.</p>
<p>-Improved revenue sharing program for the players</p>
<p> </p>
</blockquote>
https://www.swishappeal.com/2014/2/15/5414476/doug-feinberg-at-ap-wnba-players-union-agree-to-cbaJames Bowman