Kelsey Plum Calls for Netflix Sponsored $1 Million All-Star Game

Los Angeles Sparks guard Kelsey Plum is at the forefront of the WNBA's CBA negotiations and wants players to be paid better.

Kelsey Plum Calls for Netflix Sponsored $1 Million All-Star Game

Kelsey Plum and A'ja Wilson in the 2025 WNBA All-Star game (Image via FirstSportz)

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Kelsey Plum made it to her 4th All-Star appearance at the 2025 edition, which was held in Indianapolis. The Los Angeles Sparks guard played for Team Collier, which went on to beat Team Clark.

The game was a scoring fest as both sides continued to enjoy the good times they experienced throughout the weekend. Both teams ran up the scores, aided by the newly introduced 4-point shot.

Team Collier won the game 151-131. Such high scores are normal in the NBA’s All-Star games, and fans have generally asked for more competition from the players. However, just like the men, the WNBA All-Stars did not want to exert energy on defense.

While speaking with Matt Barnes on a special episode of All the Smoke Podcast, the former Lakers’ star asked Plum if there was anything the players could do to focus on defense and make the game more entertaining.

I got an idea. Since Netflix is here, I was saying… uh, you know the game sponsored by Netflix. Million-dollar pot. Actually, I went small with the million…maybe you do a $5 million pot. Split it 12 ways for the winning roster, and I guarantee people are picking up full court.

Kelsey Plum said

Kelsey Plum‘s suggestion could make a huge impact on the competitiveness of the WNBA All-Star game. For instance, the skills challenge and the 3-point contest were more competitive as players were battling for a good payout.

But the All-Star game gives out a measly $2,575 for an appearance and $5,150 for the game MVP. That is ridiculously low for a league whose players earn more through personal endorsements than what the league pays them to play.

Kelsey Plum clears CBA negotiations misinformation

Kelsey Plum and her fellow All-Stars made headlines when they wore ‘Pay Us What You Owe Us’ t-shirts ahead of the game. Many felt they were wrong to ask to be paid like men, as the WNBA was not generating a profit. When Matt Barnes asked the Sparks guard about this, she replied:

WNBA All-Star game was a scoring fest
WNBA All-Star game was a scoring fest (Image via Open Source/X)

A lot of times, the misinformation comes in where we are asking to be paid what the men are being paid. That’s not true. We are asking just the same percentage of revenue, or a similar percentage of revenue. Right now, that’s not the case, and that’s what we are fighting for.

Kelsey Plum said

The 2-time champion understands that the league is nowhere close to being able to pay what the men in the NBA do. But she reiterated that they can pay them the same, or close to the same share that the men get.

WNBA players get 9.3% of the revenue, whereas the NBA shares close to 50% with the men. Considering how the WNBA’s revenue has soared, she feels it is right for the women to get their due.

Overall WNBA viewership up this season

Usually, it is understood that Caitlin Clark draws the bulk of the WNBA’s viewership. It has been the case since she came into the league, and continues to do so. This year, the Indiana Fever games, for instance, are averaging 7% higher than last year.

That is even though the superstar point guard has missed multiple games this season. In addition to that, the viewership for the rest of the league has gone up by 37%. If Clark were to play in all her games, these numbers could have been higher.

There is a 50% drop whenever she does not suit up. This means the league is doing a lot better this year compared to her rookie season. If this trend continues along with the influx of exciting young prospects, the WNBA will be in good hands for years to come.

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