Dave Portnoy: WNBA players SHOULD get paid more... it's a sporting scandal that morons are missing

Barstool Sports chief Dave Portnoy has taken aim at 'morons' as he weighed in on the WNBA's pay scandal in a fiery rant.

Caitlin Clark and her fellow WNBA stars took a stand during Saturday night's All-Star game when they called out the league with a pointed jibe over its failure to pay them what they believe they deserve. 

The league's All-Stars took to the court in T-shirts telling league bosses to 'pay us what you owe us' talks over a new collective bargaining agreement stalled in Indianapolis this week. 

However, the players faced backlash on social media with fans questioning why players should be paid more when the league has been operating at a loss.

Yet Portnoy, who has become heavily invested in the WNBA over the past year as a staunch supporter of Clark, fired back as he defended the players over the scandal.  

'I see lots of morons trying to act like WNBA players don’t deserve more money,' the media mogul, who inked a deal with Fox Sports this week, began in a fiery rant 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. 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.' 

Negotiations between the WNBA and Women's National Basketball Players Association continued in Indianapolis this week but failed to reach a deal and erase the friction between the two sides.

In fact, many WNBA players were disappointed in the lack of progress of an in- person session on Thursday that was attended by 40 players. The negotiations certainly didn't narrow the gap between the two sides.

'I think (Thursday's) meeting was good for the fact that we could be in the same room as the league and the Board of Governors,' said Liberty star Breanna Stewart, a union vice president. 'But, I think, to be frank, it was a wasted opportunity.'

The dispute began when the players union announced after the 2024 season that they would opt out of the CBA on October 31, 2025. With television revenues on the rise - largely due to the presence of Clark - the players want a larger piece of the financial pie.

The players' top priorities are greatly increased salaries and a revenue sharing plan. In the WNBA, players reportedly only receive 9.3 per cent of league revenue which is way less than athletes in most other sports leagues.

But, as a New York Post article in October pointed out, the WNBA was set to lose $40million last season and NBA owners were starting to get frustrated by it. 

The NBA owns nearly 60 per cent of the league and owners were pressing commissioner Adam Silver for answers on when they can expect a return on their investment.

There's a lot of money coming into the league over the next few years with a new 11-year media rights deal worth over $2.2billion, three new expansion teams that each  paid $250m in fees and many new sponsors.

According to Sports Illustrated, WNBA salaries roughly range from a minimum of $66,000 to a super maximum contract of around $250,000. 

For reference, Clark will earn $78,000 in the 2025 season while All-Star rival Napheesa Collier has an average annual salary of $184,000.

Arike Ogunbowale of the Dallas Wings has the highest average annual salary in the WNBA at $241,000. 

Players can supplement their income through commercial deals and it's thought Clark, the Indiana Fever sensation, earned $11million in 2024.

The deadline to reach a new agreement is just three-and-a-half months away. 

'Rev sharing is truly transformational,' Los Angeles Sparks guard Kelsey Plum told reporters.

'We want a piece of the entire pie. Not a piece of part of the pie. We're a resilient group. We know the unity it takes to be able to get the outcome desired.'

Chicago Sky second-year forward Angel Reese termed the negotiations as 'disrespectful.'

'Obviously, women's basketball is skyrocketing,' Reese told reporters. 'And it's important for us to get what we want now, not just now, but for the future as well. ...

'It was an eye-opener for me ... hearing the language of things, not things that I was happy to hear. It was disrespectful -- the proposal that we were sent back.'

'We're on a time crunch. No one wants a lockout,' said Minnesota Lynx star Napheesa Collier, another vice president of the WNBPA.

'But at the end of the day, we have to stand firm, and we're not going to be moved on certain topics. So hopefully the league comes back quickly so that we can get have more dialog, more conversations and can get the ball rolling.'

Collier and Stewart were co-founders of Unrivaled, a 3-on-3 league that debuted last offseason.

The fact that both players are part of the WNBPA negotiating party while having significant financial investments in a rival league would appear to be a conflict of interest, though Collier has fought back against that narrative.

That also is part of the discussions as the WNBA wants its league to be prioritized among the players, some of whom play overseas. Players point out that Unrivaled's pay scale was better for most players than what they receive in WNBA salary.

WNBA commissioner Cathy Engelbert described the negotiations as 'very constructive dialog.' Engelbert said she remains optimistic that a deal with get done.