Paige Bueckers Sounds Alarm on Where WNBA CBA Talks Could Be Headed
The biggest story in the world of women's basketball right now is the ongoing negotiations between the WNBA league office and the league's players' association regarding the next Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA).
The initial deadline for a ratified CBA was October 31. Once it became clear that this deadline would not be reached, the deadline was extended to November 30. While there were some seemingly optimistic reports about the most recent CBA proposals the league had offered the players, the two sides didn't come to a deal before that November 30 date. As a result, a third deadline of January 9 has been agreed to.
A few major problems will arise if a ratified CBA is not agreed upon by January 9. For one, the league is already behind schedule, given that the Golden State Valkyries' Expansion Draft took place on December 6, 2024. Of course, it is currently December 9, 2025, and there are two expansion teams (the Toronto Tempo and the Portland Fire) who need their respective expansion drafts, and there not being a CBA in place means this can't occur.
What's more, the WNBA free agency period typically begins in early February. Not only will a new CBA need to be ratified for free agency to commence, but the aforementioned expansion drafts also have to happen before that.
Yet, there's nothing to indicate that a new CBA is imminent. And the longer these deadlines get extended and dragged out, the greater chance there is that the 2026 WNBA season is jeopardized.
Paige Bueckers Hints WNBA CBA Talks Are Far From Over
Dallas Wings star Paige Bueckers spoke with Myah Taylor of The Dallas Morning News for a December 9 article and didn't mince words about the ongoing CBA negotiations.
“We can do things off the court. We can bring more visibility and eyes,” Bueckers said. “[We’re in] the national media, on commercials [and] do large sponsorship deals with brands like Nike and Gatorade and stuff that has national, and even global, visibility. We’re more than just WNBA players and I think we want to get compensated as such," Bueckers said, referring to the players' efforts for increased salaries as part of a new CBA.
“There’s things, as WNBA players and the WNBPA, that we’re standing firm on. I think that’s why the extensions are happening and the conversations are continuing to keep going past the deadlines. These deadlines will probably continue to keep getting extended," she added.
paige talking about the CBA, WNBA, and WNBPA arrangement, and her thoughts on how the players should be being treated due to their visibility nationally and globally. she also said the deadlines are more likely to keep getting extended pic.twitter.com/w8xasFFQAT
— lina (@cocopauffs) December 9, 2025
Bueckers doesn't sound optimistic about how these negotiations have gone thus far and where they might be headed in the future.
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Grant Young covers Women’s Basketball, the New York Yankees, and the New York Mets for Sports Illustrated’s ‘On SI’ sites. He holds an MFA degree in creative writing from the University of San Francisco (USF), where he also graduated with a Bachelor’s Degree in Marketing and played on USF’s Division I baseball team for five years. However, he now prefers Angel Reese to Angels in the Outfield.
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