After about a year and half of negotiations and an offseason that has been put on hold until a new Collective Bargaining Agreement was reached, the WNBA and the WNBPA have verbally agreed on terms of a new, historic CBA deal.
The league and the players’ union had been meeting in New York for the past eight days, with the marathon negotiation sessions surpassing 100 hours between league representatives and players’ union leadership.
WNBA Commissioner Cathy Engelbert met with reporters on site at 2 a.m
CT on Wednesday, noting both sides agreed to terms of a new CBA deal. As the term sheet continues to be finalized, the players will then vote on it before it makes its way to the WNBA Board of Governors. In totality, that process of finalization should take a few weeks.
But, at long last, we have a CBA deal and now the rest of the offseason can officially begin.
What We Know
Though the term sheet is not officially finalized, we have some idea of what this groundbreaking CBA deal means for the players and how it will impact players now and into the future.
According to reports from Alexa Philippou of ESPN and Annie Costabile of Front Office Sports — who were both on site alongside reporters Jackie Powell and Doug Feinberg throughout the entire negotiations marathon — and Meghan Hall of USA Today, here are some details of what the CBA includes:
- Player salaries are directly tied to league revenue growth for the first time ever
- Supermax salaries for players will surpass the $1 million mark
- Average player salaries will be beyond $500,000
- The salary cap for the 2026 season will be around or above $6.5 million
Throughout negotiations, the players’ union was represented in person by WNBA Executive Director Terri Carmichael Jackson alongside player representatives such as President Nneka Ogwumike, Vice Presidents Breanna Stewart, Alysha Clark and Napheesa Collier, and Treasurer Brianna Turner. Vice President Kelsey Plum and Secretary Elizabeth Williams also joined virtually at points over the eight-day negotiations.
What Happens Now
The timing of this CBA deal is key, because it was getting to the point where, if the negotiations took any longer, there would likely be some sort of impact to the start of the 2026 WNBA season.
However, Engelbert told reporters on-site early Wednesday morning that there will be no impact on the upcoming season, with training camp still scheduled to begin April 19 followed by the start of preseason action on April 25 before the regular season tipping off on May 8.
Since the rest of the offseason will operate as normal, this is what the coming weeks will look like leading up to the start of the 2026 campaign:
- An Expansion Draft for the WNBA’s two newest teams — the Toronto Tempo and Portland Fire — will take place between April 1-6
- Qualifying offers for free agents can be made by teams April 7-8
- The free agency negotiation period will take place April 9-11
- The free agency signing period will occur April 12-18
- The 2026 WNBA Draft will be held April 13
- Training camps will commence league-wide on April 19
- Preseason action begins April 25
- Regular season schedule gets underway with Opening Night on May 8
A LOT has to happen yet over the coming weeks before we can start to get a better understanding of what teams will look like and what the league will look like going into the 2026. News and signings will come fast and furious over the next few weeks, with teams chomping at the bit to fill out their rosters and officially look ahead to the new year.
It’s been a long, frustrating offseason for many within the league, among WNBA players and teams, and among fans worldwide. But at long last, we have a CBA. Now, the mad dash to the 2026 season begins.
