WNBA Sets CBA Deadline With Games at Risk

The ongoing WNBA CBA drama may finally be reaching the endgame. The players' association and the league have been stuck in a stalemate on talks around a new collective bargaining agreement for months, but after a meeting between the parties Monday, a real deadline is finally in place.

A source with knowledge of the situation confirmed that the WNBA informed the players a deal on the terms of a new CBA would need to be reached by March 10 to avoid the 2026 schedule being impacted, as first reported by Alexa Philippou of ESPN.

Breaking: The WNBA told the WNBPA and its teams today that a term sheet for a new CBA ought to be completed by March 10 for the 2026 schedule not to be impacted.

That's two weeks from tomorrow.
— Alexa Philippou (@alexaphilippou) February 23, 2026

This coming as over 50 WNBA players met with league representatives over Zoom (the meeting took place remotely due to the winter weather conditions in New York).

NBA Commissioner Adam Silver had previously shared that negotiations were nearing the 11th hour, in pleading for urgency in talks.

"What I'd love to accomplish is sort of putting pressure on everybody. I've been through so many cycles of collective bargaining and often things tend to get done in the 11th hour. We're getting awfully close to the 11th hour now when it comes to bargaining," Silver stated.

"We need to now move towards a next level sense of urgency and not lose momentum in terms of the amazing amount of progress we've seen in women's basketball," he added.

The WNBA Has Lots of Business to Conduct Before 2026 Season

WNBA ball — Aug 31, 2025; San Francisco, California, USA; Golden State Valkyries guard Kaitlyn Chen (2) holds a ball as the WNBA logo appears on the ball and shorts before the game against the Indiana Fever at Chase Center. Mandatory Credit: Darren Yamashita-Imagn Images | Darren Yamashita-Imagn Images

The 2026 WNBA season is scheduled to commence on May 8, but the reason a deal needs to be agreed to soon is because the league must still conduct expansion drafts for the Toronto Tempo and Portland Fire, hold a free agency period where almost every player not on a rookie deal will be on the market, and complete the WNBA Draft before the season tips off.

That doesn't take into account the time it takes for an agreement to be legally ratified. Which is why time is of the essence.

Missing Games Is a Revenue Threat

The existing proposal from the league to the players would see an increase in salaries, with the average player salary rising to over $535,000 in year one (up from $120,000) and the max salary approaching $1.3 million (from $250,000).

The hang up however is around revenue share, with the players' side arguing for a larger share of gross revenue (27.5% over the life of the deal), meaning revenue before deducting expenses. The WNBA believes it would lose large sums of money under this structure and is instead offering 70% of net revenue (money made after expenses), which equates to about 15% of gross revenue.

Of course, in any revenue sharing system, missed games can do damage as there is no revenue without the product on the floor.

This is something New York Liberty star Breanna Stewart, who is a WNBAPA Vice President, shared on a recent episode of her Mind the Game podcast.

"And that's the thing I've been telling them, is now that we're part of a revenue share model, you miss games, it's less money. And not to say that we should submit, and just say yes to any proposals that we don't like. But this is a business now, and that's how businesses go," Stewart said.

We’ll see whether the risk of missed games and a firm deadline finally brings this standoff to an end.