WNBA players have voted to authorize a strike, the union said Thursday, the biggest step yet toward a potential work stoppage.

In a vote that included 93% participation from players, 98% voted to let the WNBPA executive committee call a strike when necessary.

“Time and again, the players’ thoughtful and reasonable approach has been met by the WNBA and its teams with a resistance to change and a recommitment to the draconian provisions that have unfairly restricted players for nearly three decades,” the WNBPA said in a statement. “The players’ vote is neither a call for an immediate strike nor an intention to pursue one. Rather, it is an emphatic affirmation of the players’ confidence in their leadership and their unwavering solidarity against ongoing efforts to divide, conquer, and undervalue them.” 

Earlier this month, owners offered the players an economic model that would ultimately pay them less than 15% of league revenue, sources previously confirmed to Front Office Sports; players countered with 30%.

The WNBA later issued a statement in response to the WNBPA’s strike authorization vote, which acknowledged the players’ right to authorize a future work stoppage but noted that the league strongly disagrees “with the WNBPA’s characterization of the current state of negotiations, which fundamentally misrepresents the ongoing discussions taking place at the bargaining table.

“It is difficult to understand claims that the league is resistant to change, particularly given that we are proposing numerous CBA modifications including significant immediate salary increases and a new uncapped revenue-sharing model that would ensure continued salary growth tied to revenue growth.”

The WNBA and union agreed to a second extension hours before the collective bargaining agreement was set to expire on Nov. 30, making the new deadline Jan. 9. Under the terms of the current CBA extension, the union would not be able to call a strike without first terminating the extended agreement. 

Both the WNBA and WNBPA have the right to terminate the extended agreement with 48 hours’ notice. 

This vote comes following a slew of recent public comments from players on the state of negotiations. During a three-day USA basketball camp, first vice president Kelsey Plum said, “It’s been a little bit disheartening.” Indiana Fever guard Caitlin Clark emphasized the importance of players fighting for what they deserve. 

“But at the same time, we need to play basketball,” Clark added. 

On Wednesday, Unrivaled cofounder and union vice president Breanna Stewart said she would welcome help from NBA commissioner Adam Silver and deputy commissioner Mark Tatum at the bargaining table. 

“What we’re doing right now isn’t really getting us anywhere,” Stewart said. “If that means Adam and Mark need to come to the table, we’re more than happy to have that,” she said.

The league’s most recent proposal includes a revenue-sharing model increasing the max player salary to more than $1.3 million, a source with knowledge of the negotiations confirmed to FOS. The max salary would increase to nearly $2 million over the span of the CBA. 

The average player salary would be $530,000 under the league’s latest proposal, and the minimum player salary would be more than $250,000 in Year 1 of the new CBA. 

“Let it be known,” the union’s statement continued. “The players remain united, resolute, and prepared to fight for their value and their future.”

A controlling interest in the Penguins is about to be sold, according to multiple reports, from Fenway Sports Group to the Hoffmann Family of Companies, a Chicago-based investment firm. If that estimated $1.7 billion deal reaches completion, it will end a largely ignominious era for a once-proud National Hockey League franchise.

FSG, owners of MLB’s Red Sox, and the Premier League’s Liverpool FC, among several other assets, had high hopes for its entry into hockey when it purchased the Penguins in late 2021 from Ron Burkle and Mario Lemieux in a $900 million deal.

The four years since, however, have been marked by a significant retreat for a Penguins franchise that has consistently been one of the NHL’s top performers. The FSG era with the Penguins has included:

• Playoff absences and declining standings points totals in the three full seasons FSG had the team. The Penguins are also two points out of the final Eastern Conference playoff spot this season, and they are in the midst of a six-game losing streak heading into Thursday night’s game at Ottawa. Pittsburgh had a first-round playoff exit several months after FSG’s arrival, but the competitive slide is a significant reversal from a run of 16 straight postseason appearances and three of the Penguins’ five Stanley Cup titles. 
• Attendance has declined each of the past two seasons, and a current pattern of playing to just 88.4% of capacity at PPG Paints Arena, the third-lowest percentage in the league behind the struggling Sabres and Sharks. Shortly before FSG’s arrival, the Penguins saw an end to a 633-game sellout streak, and local support has only ebbed further since then. 
• A 38% decline in local television viewership last season on SportsNet Pittsburgh, the third-largest such drop behind the Blackhawks and Rangers. The regional sports network is now managed through the FSG-controlled NESN, but as the team has struggled, so, too, have audiences for Penguins games. The RSN is co-owned with MLB’s Pirates.
• A FSG relationship with Lemieux, a franchise icon and still part-owner, hovering somewhere between tense and distant, and nowhere particularly productive. 

Such performance for the Penguins contrasts significantly with the Red Sox, who have won four World Series under FSG’s ownership, and Liverpool, which has two Premier League titles and several other trophies under the John Henry–led group. 

Rebuilding Process

The Penguins have been in even tougher situations, though, as Burkle and Lemieux previously rescued the club from bankruptcy in the late 1990s. Since then, though, the Penguins have become a stalwart of the league, particularly in the era of star forward Sidney Crosby, still performing at a high level at 38 years old, and expectations have changed significantly. 

The ownership change, when it happens, will be focused heavily on accelerating the on-ice rebuilding process and restoring the once-deep ties with the local fan base.

FSG, for its part, did not confirm or deny reports of the imminent sale. The team said earlier this year it was pursuing a minority partner in the Penguins, but the deal structure changed substantially with the Hoffmann group.

“There is no formal agreement in place to confirm or announce at this time,” the company said. 

James Madison and Tulane are both huge double-digit underdogs in their respective debut College Football Playoff games on Saturday, but both schools have been experiencing massive demand for merchandise commemorating what could be a once-in-a-lifetime moment.

The Group of 6 schools both received automatic CFP bids as two of the five highest-ranked conference champions, thanks to the chaos caused by unranked Duke winning the ACC. 

No. 5 Oregon is favored to beat No. 12 JMU by 21 points, but optimism is still high around the program that’s only in its third season playing the FBS as a member of the Sun Belt Conference. 

“I’ve been at the bookstore since 1999, and I was here in 2004 when JMU won their 1st FCS championship, and that was really, really exciting as well,” campus store director Mark Glenn tells Front Office Sports. “But this is a little bit of a different animal.”

Online orders for JMU CFP apparel started the evening of Dec. 7, and stock arrived at the store Dec. 10. “It’s really hard to keep on the shelves,” Glenn says. “And our online business has been booming.” He estimates they’ve processed 3,000 orders this week alone, which makes the 288 Sun Belt champions shirts they premade before the Dec. 5 game seem like nothing.

The most popular CFP items are the Nike “Playoff Mode” hoodie with a JMU logo and a T-shirt that includes logos of all 12 teams in this year’s field. Wholesale retailer Blue 84 is making some of the CFP merch, too.

Glenn says his 24,000-square-foot store, which is operated by nationwide college retailer Follett, has had to bring in workers from other nearby campus shops to help with extra shifts. “Some people have been working some long hours,” he says.

Riding the Wave

No. 6 Ole Miss is favored by 17.5 points over No. 11 Tulane, but the Green Wave contingent in New Orleans and beyond is riding just as high as their fellow underdogs at JMU.

Campus Connection, a Tulane apparel shop in the Big Easy, has shipped 1,000 orders this week. The store had to bring in some employees from Tulane Sports Properties—the athletic department’s multimedia rights arm—for some extra hands.

One of the most popular Tulane items is actually not part of any CFP collection: a hoodie with “RMFW” written in block letters (use your imagination), which American Conference commissioner Tim Pernetti plans on wearing at Saturday’s game in Oxford.