After the WNBA and the WNBPA announced the signing of the long-form version of the new CBA on May 22, it looks like the WNBA is on its toes to deliver a lump-sum payment of $14 million to its retired players in total.

This is possible due to the new Veteran Recognition Payment rule being added to the new CBA, according to which retired players can get up to $100,000.

However, a report from Front Office Sports explained that there is a catch. The players must have at least five years of experience to avail themselves of this retirement plan. To break it down, players with five to seven years of experience will get $30,000, while players with eight to eleven years of experience will be eligible to earn $50,000.

But how will someone get the $100,000 amount? Any player with 12 or more years of experience will be able to avail this ransom amount. But there is yet another way to grab this amount, as reported by Front Office Sports. The 409-page document reveals the answer to that.

It said, "Any player who retired prior to the 2026 Season and was awarded WNBA Most Valuable Player at least once during their WNBA career, regardless of their Years of Service at the time of their retirement, shall receive the same Veteran Recognition Payment as a player with twelve (12) or more Years of Service."

Due to this new rule, many MVPs will benefit. Let us take a look at those names, while also discovering what a WNBA analyst thinks about the move.

Former WNBA player appreciates the league's supportive move for retired players

As MVPs will receive the same amount of payment as a player who has 12 or more years of experience, players like Yolanda Griffith, Cynthia Cooper, Maya Moore, and Elena Delle Donne are set to benefit as former MVPs.

Discussing the new CBA and the benefits it will provide to retired players, ESPN analyst Rebecca Lobo, who also played six seasons in the WNBA, responded.

"I’m sure there are a certain number of [retired players] who it will make a real impact on their lives," she said.

"For the current players to kind of appreciate the history of the game and where they are now as a result of some of the women who came before them, that was magnanimous and certainly a surprise."

Lobo will also benefit from the new deal, receiving a $30,000 amount for having more than five years of experience in the league.

According to the CBA, the payments to the retired players will be effectively distributed to them before the end of this year.

So, after learning all this, what are your thoughts about the WNBA's financially supportive move for the veterans?

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Written by

Dhruv Singh

Edited by

Souvik Roy