The 2025 WNBA All-Star Game was about more than the action on the court, but about the future economics of the league. During the warmup, several players wore shirts that read "Pay Us What You Owe Us," a powerful statement signaling their solidarity as they negotiated a new collective bargaining agreement with the league in front of a sold-out crowd of more than 16,000 at Gainbridge Fieldhouse.

On Saturday (July 19), players discussed what kind of statement they wanted to make during a closed-door meeting in the morning. The group reached a consensus that wearing shirts would convey a powerful message for all to see.

Nneka Ogwumike, WNBPA president, stated that the league and union are proposing two systems, with the league advocating for a fixed percentage and the players seeking "a better share where our salaries grow with the business, and not just a fixed percentage over time."

"We see the growth of the league, and as it stands, the current salary system is not really paying us what we're owed," Ogwumike said, describing the shirt's slogan to ESPN. "And we want to be able to have that fair share moving forward, especially as we see all of the investment going in, and we want to be able to have our salaries reflected in a structure that makes sense for us."

In 2024, the league signed a historic media rights deal worth $2.2 billion over the next 11 years, averaging $200 million per year.

WNBA players have a history of taking collective stands on issues. In 2020, numerous players wore Black Lives Matter shirts to show their support for the protests taking place across the country. In 2022, when Brittney Griner was detained in Russia, the players wore her jersey in the second half of the 2022 All-Star Game.

When WNBA Commissioner Cathy Engelbert awarded Minnesota Lynx forward Napheesa Collier, Vice President of the WNBPA, the 2025 All-Star Game MVP trophy, the crowd showed its support for the players by chanting "pay them!" 

"The fans making that chant," Collier added, "that gave me chills."