Breanna Stewart reveals what’s really happening in WNBA CBA talks and Unrivaled success| The Pivot

TL;DR

Stewart says the WNBA's historic revenue-share model is the core CBA fight, with players demanding a gross percentage rather than the league's SBI formula.

Key Points

• 1.The key CBA dispute: players want revenue sharing based on gross revenue, while the league proposes a "Shared Basketball Income" (SBI) model that deducts expenses first — a massive financial difference.
• 2.Stewart confirmed a CBA meeting was scheduled the same day as the podcast (4:00 PM) with league ownership group (LRC); a strike authorization vote is ready if needed.
• 3.The max WNBA salary jumped from $110K (Stewart's rookie year) to $240K under the last CBA, and is now projected at $1.2 million under the new deal.
• 4.Stewart said she's fighting for lower-tier players, not herself: "The supermax number is pretty high — I'm going to be good no matter what."
• 5.Breanna and Breanna Jonquel Jones (Fee) co-founded Unrivaled to end the 7-month offseason blackout where players disappeared overseas with no visibility or brand-building opportunities.
• 6.Chelsea Gray won $200,000 from Sprite for winning Unrivaled's one-on-one tournament — more than many players' full WNBA salaries.
• 7.Stewart revealed she played Unrivaled's first season with a torn meniscus sustained in Game 5 of the WNBA Finals, then returned healthy in Year 2 and won the championship.
• 8.On her biological father: he attempted contact during high school and showed up to games including at MSG, but Stewart dismissed it — "Would he be around if I was working at McDonald's?"
• 9.Stewart disclosed she was a survivor of childhood sexual abuse, told her mother at age 11, and didn't publicly share her story until age 23 via The Players' Tribune to help others rather than seek sympathy.
• 10.On the Angel vs. Caitlin rivalry debate: Stewart said the competitive tension is good for the sport and players must accept both love and hate if they want the WNBA to reach the next level.