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With a new head coach and a No. 1 draft pick coming in 2026, the future is bright for the Wings. But the franchise, along with the rest of the league, also faces a great deal of uncertainty.
The WNBA collective bargaining agreement expires at 11:59 p.m. eastern time on Sunday night, marking the end of a 30-day extension that began after the league and the players’ union could not come to terms by the original Oct. 31 deadline.
Multiple reports indicate that a deal will not be completed by Sunday.
The WNBPA did not see a WNBA proposal, which included significant salary increases along with a revenue sharing component that in all offered players a maximum of more than $1.1 million and a minimum of more than $220,000, as moving things forward, according to ESPN.
Players said the proposal did not include a feature where the salary cap grew with the business, like in the NBA. They don’t want a salary cap — like the $1,507,100 limit in 2025 — that they say is chosen randomly.
Wings star Paige Bueckers, the 2025 WNBA Rookie of the Year, has been vocal about pay equity for players in the league. Bueckers, the No. 1 pick in last year’s draft and one of the most visible faces in the WNBA, will make more money during her eight-week stint in Miami for new 3-on-3 women’s basketball league Unrivaled than she will over her entire four-year WNBA rookie contract, valued at about $348,000.
“We know how important we are to this league, and we’re very grateful for the people who have paved the way for us , who have given this opportunity for us to play and continue to make money and continue to help the game grow,” Bueckers said in her postgame news conference after the Wings season finale in September. “It’s all about the next generation … We just sacrifice so much of our time, bodies, energy.”
Here’s what could happen if the league and the players can’t finalize an agreement and how that scenario would affect the Wings.
Potential strike, lockout
Both parties could agree to another extension, just as they did at the end of October.
A work stoppage — a players’ strike or a lockout initiated by the owners — could be on the table if there isn’t an extension, but it wouldn’t automatically happen. A “status quo” phase could follow after the deadline. The period would maintain the working conditions of the current CBA and allow for the league and union to continue negotiations.
What if there’s another extension?
An extension wouldn’t be ideal from a time perspective.
The WNBA can’t hold an expansion draft for its two new teams, the Portland Fire and Toronto Tempo, until the new CBA is finalized. Last year, the Golden State Valkyries expansion draft took place in early December.
It was already set to be an unprecedented offseason, with a majority of the league’s veterans hitting free agency. That period typically occurs in January and players can start signing contracts on Feb.1 With no deal, these key offseason events will be on hold and condensed into a small time frame.
How would this affect the Wings?
Dallas, which secured the No. 1 pick in the 2026 draft at last week’s lottery, would work inside a condensed timeline when it comes to building a new roster through free agency and other offseason transactions should there be an extension for CBA negotiations.
The Wings have a strong young core, but some players may enter the expansion draft.
In the 2024 expansion draft, which helped the Golden State Valkyries build their roster, each WNBA team could protect six players as long as they had the rights to their contracts. A Wings spokesperson told The Dallas Morning News the organization does not yet have the rules for the 2026 expansion draft, with uncertainty surrounding the CBA and roster sizes.
The Wings won’t know how many players they can protect until the new CBA is finalized.
Wings players under contract include Bueckers, fellow 2025 rookies Aziaha James and JJ Quinerly and forwards Diamond Miller and Maddy Siegrist. The team has reserved the rights to centers Luisa Geiselsöder and Li Yueru, as well as guard Grace Berger and guard-forward Haley Jones.
Dallas also has the rights to forward Awak Kuier, who has sat out of WNBA competition since after the 2023 season, and Lou Lopez Sénéchal, who elected to sit out the 2025 season.
Arike Ogunbowale, the highest-paid player on the team with a 2025 salary of $249,032, according to the Her Hoop Stats WNBA Salary Cap Database, is an unrestricted free agent. So are Myisha Hines-Allen and Ty Harris. They could walk or return in 2026.
The WNBA draft, which will be a big night for the Wings in 2026, typically takes place in April. But the league cannot hold a draft until the new CBA is ratified.
Find more Wings coverage from The Dallas Morning News here.
