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Following 17 months of intense negotiations and a high-stakes marathon session in New York, the WNBA and the Women’s National Basketball Players Association (WNBPA) reached a tentative verbal agreement on a new Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA) early Wednesday morning.
The deal effectively ends a period of labor uncertainty that had frozen free agency since January and threatened to delay the league’s landmark 30th season.
The breakthrough came after eight days of “marathon” bargaining involving WNBA commissioner Cathy Engelbert, WNBPA executive director Terri Carmichael Jackson, and a core group of veteran players including Nneka Ogwumike and Breanna Stewart.
Emphasising that the deal was built with future players in mind, WNBPA president, Nneka Ogwumike, ensured that those entering the league do not face the “sense of lack” experienced by previous generations.
The agreement is also expected to address long-standing “off-court” issues, such as travel standards and marketing rights, which have been points of contention as the league’s valuation continues to rise.
Revenue Sharing: The Core of the Conflict
At the heart of the 100-hour negotiation was a shift in how the league’s surging financial success is shared with its athletes.
Under the previous 2020 CBA, players only shared in “excess” revenue once high, cumulative targets were met, a threshold that was finally triggered for the first time in 2025, resulting in an USD8 million (AUD11.3 million) distribution across the league’s 13 teams.
The new agreement is expected to move toward a more transparent salary model more closely tied to the league’s total revenue.
Commenting on the negotiation, New York Liberty star, Breanna Stewart, said: “This deal is going to be transformational.”
“It’s going to build and help create a system where everybody is getting exactly what they deserve and more, from on the court and off the court aspects,” Steward said.
Impact on the 2026 Season Calendar
The agreement arrives just in time to salvage the 2026 preseason. With training camps scheduled to begin in late April, the league now faces a compressed administrative window to execute critical off-season milestones.
Event
Tentative Dates
Expansion Draft
1 April – 6 April
Qualifying Offers & Core Designations
7 April – 8 April
Free Agency Negotiation Period
9 April – 11 April
Free Agency Signing Period
12 April – 18 April
WNBA Collegiate Draft
To Be Confirmed (Late April)
The tentative agreement now moves to a formal drafting and ratification stage, which is expected to take several weeks. However, the “status quo” period and the moratorium on player movement are expected to lift as soon as the legal language is finalised.
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