Sep 11, 2025; Arlington, Texas, USA; Dallas Wings guard Paige Bueckers (5) looks on during the second half against the Phoenix Mercury at College Park Center. Mandatory Credit: Jerome Miron-Imagn Images Jerome Miron-Imagn Images

Paige Bueckers Gets Clear on What WNBA Players Need Amid CBA Negotiations

Originally posted on Women's Fastbreak on SI
By Grant Young | Last updated Sep 12, 2025 12:00 PM ET

Now that the 2025 WNBA season is over for five of the league's 13 teams (with the other eight now gearing up for the postseason), attention will turn towards this upcoming offseason for every player who isn't competing in the playoffs.

Several massive storylines will be getting coverage once a 2025 WNBA champion is crowned and the league turns its attention toward the offseason. Perhaps the most intriguing is the upcoming free agency, as essentially every single veteran player in the league is set to become a free agent, which will create a dramatic shift in the league's landscape.

The reason so many players are becoming free agents is that they structured their contracts this way, knowing that the current Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA) is expiring once the 2025 season ends. And the expectation is that the next CBA will allow players to make multitudes more money, which is why these players want fresh contracts when this new CBA goes into effect.

The Dallas Wings are one of the five teams that didn't make the WNBA postseason, which means that superstar guard Paige Bueckers' rookie season is now over.

Paige Bueckers Sends Strong Message About WNBA CBA Negotiations

Bueckers spoke with the media after her team's final game on September 11. At one point, she was asked about getting recent support from the players' union and from fans regarding the ongoing CBA negotiations.

"Yeah. It means a lot, because it's not a lonely fight that we're fighting. We need a collective group, and unity, and a united front," Bueckers responded, per a YouTube video from The Ballers Magazine. "To get that support, it means a lot. Because we're trying to reach as many voices as we can, have as many people have our backs as we can, because we know how important we are to this league.

"We're very grateful for the people who paved the way before us, who have given this opportunity for us to play, and continue to make money, continue to help the game grow. And then it's all about the next generation, and what we feell ike the game, and the trajectory it's growing in, and what the women in this league deserve. We just sacrifice so much," Bueckers added.

"We just believe we're a huge part in this, and we just believe we should be rewarded that way. And to have that support from the fans, and from people who are outside of the game as well, it means a lot," she concluded.