NFL Players' Association Needs to Reinforce Unity for Strength
In the world of professional sports, success often requires more than just raw talent, hard work, and skill. Passion, heart, and soul can differentiate successful athletes and teams from champions. This is a lesson that the National Football League (NFL) Players Association (NFLPA) and its counterpart in the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBPA) have learned over the years.
The NFLPA has long advocated for non-economic gains and benefits for players, recognising that the power of unity and collective purpose can bring about transformative change. This ethos was particularly evident in 2011, when NFL players drew strength from applying similar principles, fostering an "us against the world" mentality.
However, the NFLPA is currently facing a leadership vacuum at the top, and solidarity is being tested. The scars from the 2020 collective bargaining agreement lingered into the leadership change of 2023 from DeMaurice Smith to Lloyd Howell Jr. When that executive director stumbled, the union was left in a lurch.
On the other hand, WNBA players have shown a remarkable ability to leverage intangible skills in their labor negotiations. Despite having lower salaries, less history, and fewer tangible resources, they have a fighting chance. Their approach to negotiations is marked by a deep sense of player solidarity and a strong collective voice around issues of pay equity, benefits, and social justice.
A key example of this was the coordinated protest at the 2025 WNBA All-Star Game, where the league’s top players wore black T-shirts saying "Pay Us What You Owe Us" to symbolise their demand for fair compensation and to highlight the inequities they face compared to NBA players. This was a deliberate, public display of unity that went beyond traditional negotiation tactics to engage fans and the broader public, emphasising their role not just as athletes but as workers demanding fair treatment.
The WNBPA's strength comes from strong alignment between player leaders, their locker rooms, and the association's staff. This unity creates leverage in upcoming negotiations, as demonstrated by their recent solidarity during the All Star weekend with the message "Pay Us What You Owe Us".
George Atallah, the founder of Somebody Advisors, values intangible skills like purpose, trust, character, and authenticity in sports and unions. He served as the assistant executive director of external affairs for the NFL Players Association from 2009-2025. Atallah believes that the NFLPA needs to rediscover intangibles, and player leadership has a big task ahead.
The NFLPA's Constitution emphasises the importance of solidarity for achieving gains not yet attained. The association prioritises benefits, health and safety, post-career protections, and numerous services, beyond just money. Placing hopes in an executive director to solely negotiate the next big wins contradicts the whole premise of solidarity.
In conclusion, WNBA players have successfully demonstrated solidarity and used intangible skills such as unified, public messaging and moral authority in their labor negotiations. This sets them apart from NFL players and creates a strong collective voice around issues of pay equity, benefits, and social justice. By leveraging public symbolic actions, unified collective presence, and broad social justice framing, WNBA players reinforce solidarity and enhance their labor negotiation stance.
- People across the National Football League (NFL) Players Association (NFLPA) and its counterpart in the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBPA) have recognized the power of unity and collective purpose in achieving transformative change.
- In 2011, NFL players demonstrated this unity during labor negotiations, adopting an "us against the world" mentality, which was instrumental in their success.
- Remarkably, WNBA players, despite having lower salaries, less history, and fewer tangible resources, have shown a remarkable ability to leverage intangible skills in their labor negotiations, particularly their deep sense of player solidarity and strong collective voice.
- This unity, exemplified by their coordinated protest at the 2025 WNBA All-Star Game, has created leverage in upcoming negotiations, reinforcing their labor negotiation stance.
- George Atallah, a sports and union advisor, believes that the NFLPA needs to rediscover intangibles like purpose, trust, character, and authenticity to match the level of success achieved by WNBA players in their labor negotiations.
