WNBA CBA negotiations: Four ways a new deal can get done

In just over 100 days, on May 8, the 2026 WNBA season is set to conclude with three games.

Between now and then, the league needs to hold a two-team expansion draft. portland fire And toronto tempoMore than 100 unrestricted free agents need to sign contracts, and 2026 rookies need to be added to their teams. Most importantly, the league and players must agree to a collective bargaining agreement – ​​which will take 15 months to create.

As the deadline approached on January 9, the parties began a period called “status quo”, where the terms of the 2020 deal remain in effect.

Since then the deadlock has continued for three weeks. The Women’s National Basketball Players Association is still awaiting an official response from the league after sending the proposal a month ago. The league believes there was no need for a response to the proposal because it was no different from previous proposals submitted by the union — and instead, sources told ESPN, it is waiting for players to submit what it would consider a more “realistic” proposal.

As the season approaches, and there is still much to accomplish before the ball can be moved forward, it appears the clock is ticking for the two sides to come to an agreement. And multiple sources tell ESPN there is an understanding that the only way to find a solution is to compromise.

“That’s literally the conversation,” one player told ESPN.

ESPN’s Kendra Andrews, Katie Barnes, Alexa Filippo and Michael Voeppel assess possible paths toward a solution.

reach a mutual agreement on revenue sharing

Under the league’s proposals, players would see significant salary increases at the start of the new CBA, with a maximum salary of more than $1 million dollars. And for the first time, each player’s salary will be directly tied to the success of the league, increasing as the business grows. But a major reason for the impasse is that the two sides are still not eye-to-eye on how revenue sharing will work under the new agreement. The league has proposed a system where players would receive an average of 70% of net revenue over the lifetime of the agreement, while players have proposed receiving 30% of gross revenue (net revenue is defined as revenue after expenses are deducted, while gross revenue is revenue before expenses are deducted).

Sources have indicated to ESPN that the owners are unlikely to yield significantly on their revenue sharing position, although there is some wiggle room at the expense of other expenses the players would incur under the current proposal. The league has said its priorities are not only to increase player compensation, but also – amid the opportunity to move from decades of loss-making operations to sustained profitability – to encourage owners to continue investing.

Players have broadly stated that the percentage of gross revenue for which they are asking “represents our value” and “[is] Not too much,” e.g. Nafeesa Collier told ESPN earlier this month. It’s not clear exactly how much, if at all, players are willing to concede. The union continues to point to rising franchise valuations and the league’s new media deal as signs that there is a significant stream of revenue that owners can tap into, and a feeling among some on the players’ side that team owners who cannot afford to keep up with the league’s wealthy owners should sell their franchises. Others have wondered whether it would be more beneficial for the players to get whatever revenue share they can now, potentially pursue a shorter-term deal, and – assuming the business continues to grow as hoped – fight for an even better cut of the pie in the next round of negotiations, where they would have even more leverage. — filipou

Find a middle ground on housing

The accommodation provided by the team emerged as a tension point in talks in December 2025. Since the first CBA was ratified in 1999, teams have been required to provide housing for all players from training camp through the playoffs. If players choose not to live in team-provided housing, they receive a stipend, the maximum amount of which depends on the market. Multiple sources told ESPN that most players use team housing rather than electing to receive a stipend.

Regardless of the details of revenue sharing and salary cap, WNBA salaries are likely to increase significantly. Those pending raises introduced the question of whether team-provided housing is a necessary cost for the franchise. But it’s not just full-time players with guaranteed salaries who will be affected. WNBA franchises can roster a maximum of 12 players (many are currently rostering only 11 players due to the existing salary cap), but the salaries of only six of them are guaranteed. During the season, teams can also sign players to short-term contracts. Despite the salary increase, finding and securing housing will be a significant burden for those players.

“Housing remains a priority for all players, especially those with non-guaranteed contracts and international players,” a player told ESPN. “But I think for whatever reason it’s one of the toughest issues for the league.”

The NFL, NBA, NHL, MLS and MLB do not provide season-long housing for players. The NWSL plans to phase out team-provided housing by 2027, but that plan has stipulations for players who do not have high salaries and/or are in expensive markets. In a deal for the WNBA’s CBA, it is expected to see a similar agreement in terms of salaries and market variability. — barnes

lean towards victory

Much of the talk from the players union for months has been insisting that the league’s proposals are so inadequate that they are insulting. It is not an unusual approach for a union to take such disputes. But sources outside the WNBPA tell ESPN that the union could benefit from starting to talk more optimistically about wins before a deal is struck.

Reducing bitterness does not mean giving up the powers of the union. One of the biggest wins, for example, is the proposed maximum salary of more than $1 million per season, a significant financial milestone for WNBA players. Additionally, average wages are expected to at least triple, also a big step forward for the union.

Although the parameters of revenue sharing are still under debate, the final terms are expected to be a significant improvement from the previous CBA.

When that agreement was signed in January 2020, most observers predicted that the use of charter flights for WNBA games would be a major battle cry in the next CBA. However, chartering takes place in 2024 – outside of collective bargaining – and that aspect of the journey is expected to be codified in the deal. This is also a victory for the Sangh.

Since the last CBA, the Players Association has promoted player participation and unity as a whole. This strengthens the players’ position for this labor deal and subsequent agreements.

The key to reaching a successful conclusion in labor negotiations is for both parties to feel confident that gains have been made. Thus, an effective strategy for the players’ union may be to focus its attention toward union victory. — vopel

restore trust

Commissioner Kathy Engelbert and union president on January 14, 2020 Nneka Ogwumike Sat together and announced an eight-year CBA. When they shared the news of their agreement on “Good Morning America,” they both wore blue, Ogwumike in a royal blue dress and Engelbert in a navy blazer.

“We are very proud of the players and their ability to unite on issues that are important to them,” Engelbert said. “While they drove a hard bargain, we came together, collaborated and we have an unprecedented agreement in our view that will support these players for the long term.”

It was a different time. This was before COVID-19 threw the world into disarray and severely impacted sports seasons. Prior to player activation during the upcoming bubble season, which led to its sale atlanta dream By players campaigning for former US Senator Kelly Loeffler and her eventual replacement in the Senate, Raphael Warnock. This was before the 2022 capital increase that further complicated the WNBA ownership structure. This was before the explosion of popularity of women’s basketball, driven by Caitlin Clark And angel reese. This was before the closed-door discontent with Engelbart’s leadership spilled over into the public, when Collier attacked the commissioner during his 2025 exit interview. Earlier there was a massive breakdown of trust between the league and its players.

As things stand, the WNBA and WNBPA are struggling to do what Engelbert boasted about in 2020: collaborate. Instead, both sides made sharp comments – and in doing so, greatly damaged mutual trust, leaving each side questioning whether the other was negotiating in good faith.

When Ogwumike was asked about the league’s estimate that the current WNBPA proposal would result in a $700 million loss, he indicated this much, telling espn He believes that “Leagues and teams saying they are losing money is like saying their pockets are empty while you also have the keys to a brand new Ferrari.”

union vice president Breanna Stewart While she told ESPN she would like to meet face-to-face with league owners, other sources have echoed this sentiment as a possible path to consider. Allowing key stakeholders to engage in negotiations and listen to each other – directly and not through lawyers and intermediaries – can be more productive in helping to break the impasse and get a deal over the finish line.

“At some point, enough is enough,” he told ESPN. “Personally, I’d rather be in the room and talk about actual events. These meetings get too carried away with language, rhetoric and context. We’re missing the point.” — Andrews, Barnes and Philippou