Everything to Know About the WNBA’s CBA Negotiations With Players

With the clock ticking toward the start of the 30th WNBA season, negotiations largely remain at a standstill.

The WNBA’s 30th season, set to start on May 8, could be in trouble if the two sides don’t come to an agreement. | Kamil Krzaczynski-Imagn Images

The WNBA released its 2026 schedule last week in a flurry of graphics, sponsored videos, and guest appearances from television stars. But there was an invisible asterisk of sorts: All games subject to the negotiation of a new collective bargaining agreement. The league and players association have spent months going back and forth. After extending the current agreement through November and December, the sides have been in a “status quo” period since Jan. 9, when the last extension lapsed. Things have largely been at a standstill since then, but the two parties are scheduled to meet Monday in New York to continue negotiations. 

Here’s a primer on the situation, where it stands now, and what has to happen for the season to begin. 

What does “status quo” mean?

In labor negotiations, “status quo” is what it sounds like, meaning that just about everything will stay constant until a new agreement is reached. There can be no changes to the terms of employment without any further negotiation. Basically, the conditions of the last CBA remain in effect for now, even though no formal extension has been put in place.   

Can a work stoppage happen?

Yes. The players have the ability to call a strike—the membership voted to authorize one if necessary back in December—and the league has the ability to institute a lockout. Either side could theoretically initiate a stoppage any time. 

What are the major issues?

Money. The league has seen its financial picture change significantly over the last few years: Both sides entered this negotiation with the understanding that player compensation would change significantly. Yet there are major disagreements on exactly what form that change will take. The biggest of those disagreements is centered on revenue sharing: In the proposals currently on the negotiating table, players have proposed a model based on gross revenue, while the league has proposed a model based on net revenue. (The WNBPA has reportedly proposed receiving 30% of gross revenue, while the WNBA has proposed 70% of net revenue, on average over the duration of the agreement.) That divide means the answer cannot be as simple as just meeting in the middle of two numbers. The parties will have to choose one system or the other: Either the league or the players will have to compromise on their definition of revenue. The difference could be hundreds of millions of dollars paid out collectively over the life of the agreement.

While warming up for the 2025 All-Star Game, players wore “Pay Us What You Owe Us” shirts, a nod to their stance that they deserve a greater revenue share in the new CBA. | Grace Smith/IndyStar / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

There’s a gap between the league and the players when it comes to other economic contract provisions, too, including on salaries. But the question of revenue sharing has proved the most difficult so far. It’s fundamentally a question of how the players will share in the fortune of the league as it continues to grow.  

Another key issue is housing. WNBA players have traditionally been provided with either team-owned apartments or a monthly housing stipend to use in season. (Finding suitable housing may otherwise have been difficult for players in many team markets: The average salary hit six figures only in the last few years, and even as late as 2025, the rookie minimum was still well below that.) With rising salaries, however, the league has reportedly sought to change the housing provisions. There are several potential avenues here: A new CBA might eliminate housing for most players while keeping it for rookies, non-guaranteed contracts, or another subset of players. But there will likely have to be some form of compromise here. 

There is no debate that players will receive major salary increases. In 2025, the supermax was just under $250,000, and under the most recent proposal from the league, the maximum could reach over $1 million. But the framework of those increases remains an open question. 

How much has to happen between a CBA being signed and the start of the season?

A lot. More than in most seasons! There are two expansion clubs that will need to draft their players: Toronto and Portland. There are over 100 players due to enter free agency: Nearly every veteran player wanted a chance to sign a new (and likely far more lucrative) deal under a new CBA. And, of course, there will need to be a standard draft for new players, as usual. 

The draft is currently scheduled for April 13, with preseason games beginning in late April, and the regular season kicking off May 8.  

Will the season begin on time? 

It very well could. There’s still time for all of the above to come together quickly after a deal is reached. The closest the WNBA previously came to losing games due to a labor dispute was in 2003: The two sides reached a new agreement on April 18, held both a dispersal draft and a standard player draft on April 24, began the preseason in early May, and opened the regular season on May 22. It’s possible, in other words, for all of the necessary pieces to fall into place in just a few weeks. If a new CBA is reached in February, the league could speed-run free agency before holding the draft as scheduled in mid-April and starting the season in May. But that’s a load-bearing “if.”

---