WNBA Insider Notes Potential Player Strike Looming Amid CBA Negotiations

There's a chance the WNBA could go on strike if CBA negotiations continue on their current trajectory.

Apr 14, 2025; New York, New York, USA; WNBA commissioner Cathy Engelbert talks to the media before the 2025 WNBA Draft at The Shed at Hudson Yards. Mandatory Credit: Vincent Carchietta-Imagn Images | Vincent Carchietta-Imagn Images

The ongoing Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA) negotiations between the WNBA and the league's players have become one of the most fascinating aspects of the 2025 season.

While these negotiations were something those who follow the sport constantly had been keeping tabs on, this discussion ascended into the mainstream after every 2025 WNBA All-Star player came out to warmups wearing black shirts that had, "Pay Us What You Owe Us" written on them before the July 19 in Indianapolis, Indiana.

This was the players' response to the most recent in-person negotiation with the league office, which had clearly not gone well.

Jul 19, 2025; Indianapolis, IN, USA; Team Collier forward Angel Reese (5) looks on before the 2025 WNBA All Star Game at Gainbridge Fieldhouse. Mandatory Credit: Trevor Ruszkowski-Imagn Images | Trevor Ruszkowski-Imagn Images

While these shirts sparked a ton of conversations in the days after the All-Star Game ended, chatter has since died down as the second half of the WNBA season resumed and the CBA seemingly took a backseat among players.

WNBA Insider Explains Update on CBA Negotiations

However, just because the WNBA season is back to being in full gear doesn't mean that players have forgotten about the CBA entirely. Annie Costabile, Front Office Sports' WNBA reporter, made this clear through an August 25 article.

“The players are working diligently to achieve a transformational CBA that builds on the growth, momentum, and positive news surrounding women’s sports and the W,” WNBPA executive director Terri Carmichael Jackson said in the article. “As we approach the 60-day mark, the league’s lack of urgency leaves players wondering if it is focused on making this work or just running out the clock. Fans do not want that. They are with the players in demanding a new standard for the W.” 

The 60-day mark she's alluding to is October 31, which is technically the deadline to ratify the next CBA. However, the two sides can agree on an extension to that deadline in order to avoid an immediate work stoppage.

But Costabile also noted that there's a world where a work stoppage occurs by writing, "Another possibility is a work stoppage in the form of a lockout or strike."

It appears increasingly unlikely the WNBA and WNBPA will reach a deal for a new collective bargaining agreement ahead of the Oct. 31 deadline.

There are multiple paths forward, including an extension: https://t.co/2bUqQ7F22I

— Annie Costabile (@AnnieCostabile) August 25, 2025

There has never been a work stoppage in league history before. The good news is that there would be plenty of time for the two sides to come to a deal between October 31 and the start of the next WNBA season, which will be around mid-May (with training camps likely beginning in late April).

The last CBA came together in January 2019, right before that season's free agency period began.

There's still clearly a lot to be ironed out regarding a potential deal. But the bottom line is that a work stoppage becomes increasingly likely the longer it takes to agree on a new CBA.