Before Saturday night’s WNBA All-Star Game, players for both Team Collier and Team Clark took to the court for warmups wearing black shirts that read “Pay Us What You Owe Us.”
That move comes two days after players met with the league as part of collective bargaining agreement negotiations and left feeling as though not enough progress was being made to avoid a potential lockout situation.
Videos and images of players like Caitlin Clark, Kelsey Plum, and the 2025 All-Star Game MVP, Napheesa Collier, wearing the shirt spread across social media, sparking predictable responses. While some defended the players and their desire to be compensated fairly, others chastised them for being entitled and demanding more money from a league that currently operates at a loss.
Those opinions seem to fall along obvious ideological lines, so one might have assumed that Barstool Sports owner Dave Portnoy, an avowed Donald Trump supporter, would be among the chastisers.
However, that was not the case, as the future Big Noon Kickoff panelist came to the defense of WNBA players and attempted to explain how people should view the league’s financial future.
“I see lots of morons trying to act like WNBA players don’t deserve more money,” Portnoy wrote on X. “They are throwing around this “lost 50 million” number that nobody even knows where it comes from. The finances of the league are a mess, tied in with NBA and purposely murkey [sic]. The owners don’t want to say how the league is doing cause then you gotta pay more going into bargaining agreement.
“The league is exploding. Franchise values are exploding. Ticket sales, merch, tv rights all exploding. The players have an opt out in their CBA. Of course they took it. It’s all about leverage in re-negotiations and for the 1st time in history of league players have power. The players make virtually nothing while the entire league explodes. Of course they deserve more money. Just the values of the team pay for it without all the other stuff.
“If somebody told me I could buy a Boston team for 250 million, I would do it without blinking. That’s all you got to know about the WNBA finances.”
As Portnoy alluded to, many detractors pointed to a report that said the WNBA lost $40 million last season. However, as NBA Commissioner Adam Silver has stated, it’s not so simple when it comes to NBA and WNBA finances. Additionally, the league is experiencing a massive surge in popularity, expanding to several new cities, and is set to begin a $2.2 billion media deal. Not to mention the Caitlin Clark Effect, which is still just getting started.
As ESPN’s Mina Kimes noted, you have to look at the WNBA the way you look at a tech startup, where it’s not uncommon to receive billions in investments despite not currently showing a profit. And as many defenders have said, rich people are bending over backwards to buy WNBA franchises or invest in the sport, which should tell you everything you need to know about its valuation and financial future.
Of course, many people shaming WNBA players for their demands are already aware of this. Ultimately, it’s less about them asking for what they deserve and more about a group of people who just really don’t like women.