Despite no official delays or cancellations, the WNBA’s reported deadline to land a CBA framework without a season interruption has passed.
The buzzer has sounded on the WNBA’s labor negotiations.
Courtesy of SportsLogos.Net
The reported deadline for the league and its players to secure the framework for a new collective bargaining agreement without an interruption to the 2026 season has landed without any motions passing. The league was said to have generated a landmark date of March 10 to have a tentative deal in place to ensure no interruption would come to the upcoming season.
Per Annie Costabile of Front Office Sports, the two sides met at The Langham Hotel in Manhattan on Tuesday afternoon. Among the attendees were New York Liberty star and WNBPA vice president Breanna Stewart, as well as Liberty co-owner Clara Wu Tsai. Assorted leadership from both sides likewise attended, including player reps Alysha Clark, Nneka Ogwumike, and Brianna Turner.
WNBPA, WNBA Leave New York Without a CBA Deal in Place
Multiple sources confirmed negotiations continued until about 3 a.m. ET, extending until the early morning hours. Marking a 12-hour day, in the end, neither side reached a deal. The question remains: Even if talks are headed in the right direction, has time run out? The 11th hour has passed, and several dates are approaching, including the 2026 WNBA Draft. Additionally, the expansion drafts for the Portland Fire and Toronto Tempo have yet to be held.
And free agency still needs to be addressed, another situation to tackle in such a short window.
According to ESPN’s Alex Philippou, players declined to comment, but WNBA Commissioner Cathy Engelbert and WNBPA executive director Terri Jackson gave brief statements to the press. While Jackson saw the meeting as “positive,” Engelbert described the current negotiations as “complicated.”
“It’s complex, But we’re working towards a win-win deal like we’ve been saying, transformational deal for these players that balances all the things we’ve been trying to balance with continued investment by our owners, etc. So, we’re working hard towards that, and we still have work to do.”
“Every meeting is a positive meeting,” Jackson said. “Seriously, every meeting is a positive meeting. The fact that we scheduled meetings, that we offer dates to schedule meetings that we actually get together, get in the room. I think that’s positive. It’s taking as long as it’s taking. But, you know, that’s what it needs to be.”
What’s Next?
As the deadline loomed, the two sides reportedly exchanged counterproposals over the weekend, hinting at a potential breakthrough. Revenue share, salary cap, and housing remain the most prevalent sticking points in the discussions, the former defined by debate between gross (before expenses) and net profits. The players’ union has aimed for about a quarter of gross revenue, a prospect that a source close to the league’s side of the negotiations labeled “unrealistic” in statements to Ballislife. The league has offered about 70 percent of net revenue in turn.
With no handshake deal in place, there is now a realistic chance that the landmark 30th season will not begin on time. There was no official announcement of any cancellations or delays after Tuesday’s deadline passed, but the players’ union’s executive council has carried the power to call a strike since December. Player reps have frequently stated that a strike isn’t the desired outcome but have kept the option in mind as the months press on.
As it stands, the 2026 campaign is scheduled to begin on May 8, just under a month after the rookie draft slated for Apr. 13. However, almost all of the league’s veterans beyond their fourth year of service are designated as free agents, and the rosters for incoming clubs Portland and Toronto are completely empty with the expansion draft already long delayed (the most recent expansion draft, in comparison, was held in December 2024 to make up the original ledger of the Golden State Valkyries).
That likely played a role in the league setting a deadline, one of many twists and turns in what has been, and continues to be, a tense negotiating process that will inch closer toward spring oblivion.
Geoff Magliocchetti is on X @GeoffJMags
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