Shakira Austin Delivers Reality Check on WNBA vs. NBA Benefits Amid $700 Million Loss Claims

Shakira Austin and her fellow WNBA players are hoping the next CBA will give them salaries and benefits they deserve as top athletes.

Shakira Austin Delivers Reality Check on WNBA vs. NBA Benefits Amid $700 Million Loss Claims

Washington Mystics star Shakira Austin (Image via FirstSportz)

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With a couple of days to go before the WNBA and its players decide on their next CBA, the likes of Shakira Austin and her peers are waiting to see what their future looks like.

So far, both sides have not been able to come to any form of an agreement. The players and their union are far apart from what the league has been proposing so far.

They want a higher share of the revenue, along with several benefits that professional athletes in other leagues get. However, the WNBA has not relented to their demands, which has brought up a situation where the players could call a strike on the upcoming 2026 season.

In the midst of this, Shakira Austin’s attention fell on a claim by NBA star Guerschon Yabusele. While speaking on Just Riadh, the New York Knicks star said this:

If you play three years in the NBA, you get a lifetime pension. After four seasons, medical expenses are covered for life. After five years, the medical coverage is extended to the entire family. I want to play for five years in the NBA so that my family can benefit from that lifetime care.

Guerschon Yabusele said

After reading this transcript, the Washington Mystics center responded with a reality check.

Must be niceeee, over here they telling vets to pay for a flight to All-Star weekend to get checked by a doc in a pop up tent.

Shakira Austin replied

The 2025 AP Comeback Player of the Year revealed how different it is for the women in the WNBA, as they are providing the same entertainment for far less pay and benefits.

WNBA claims players’ proposals would result in $700 million loss

Shakira Austin might be hoping that she and her fellow players get at least some benefits close to what their counterparts in the NBA get. However, the league does not seem intent on doing so.

The WNBA projects a recent proposal from the WNBPA, which would give players ~30% of gross revenue & is believed to feature a ~$10.5 million salary cap, would result in $700 million in losses over the course of the deal.

Alexa Philippou revealed on X

The ESPN analyst learned of these claims from the league office. That is a significant projection, especially when considering that the league lost $40-50 million in the 2024 season.

However, Philippou also had a chance to speak with representatives from the players’ union, who claimed that those projections were ‘absolutely false’ and that they were a way for the league to influence public perception.

Shakira Austin and Unrivaled are proving women can be paid well

In the past, the likes of Shakira Austin would have to travel abroad in the offseason with the hope of earning another paycheck, as the one they earned back in the WNBA was not good enough to sustain a life.

Shakira Austin and other WNBA stars in Unrivaled
Shakira Austin and other WNBA stars in Unrivaled (Image via Unrivaled/X)

Even now, some do travel abroad to play in other leagues. Thankfully, Shakira Austin got a call from the upstart Unrivaled, and that opportunity meant she did not have to leave her country.

The 6′ 5″ center has been assigned to play for the Rose basketball club, where she essentially takes over Angel Reese‘s spot from last year on the championship-winning team.

Being in Unrivaled means that the Virginia native will earn a six-figure base salary, apart from the benefits the league brings. Moreover, the entire league has multiplied in value even though Indiana Fever superstar Caitlin Clark is not a part of it.

Unrivaled’s success has become a thorn in the WNBA’s side, especially since its two founding owners are also major figures in the players’ union. They have proved that a league can pay its players what they deserve and still be successful.

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