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The WNBA must have a new collective bargaining agreement in place by March 10 in order for the negotiations to avoid impacting the 2026 schedule, ESPN and the New York Post reported Monday.
The league informed the players union of this on a call on Monday that more than 50 players virtually attended, according to the reports.
It’s not a deadline to get a deal done, per se, but it does represent a target for the two sides to wrap up their negotiations and leave the 2026 league calendar unaffected.
The WNBA and Women’s National Basketball Players Association need a CBA in place to proceed with a busy offseason. Not only does free agency need to begin, but there’s also a two-team expansion draft to stage for the Toronto Tempo and Portland Fire.
As it stands, the college draft is slated for April 13 and training camps are due to open six days later, with the first games scheduled for May 8.
Earlier Monday, the union told ESPN that the league reached a revenue goal in 2025 for the first time that triggered revenue sharing with players. There will be $8 million paid out to players across the 13 teams that played last year.
Revenue sharing and player housing are among the key sticking points in the current CBA negotiations between the league and union. Reports last week said the union eased its stance on certain revenue-sharing matters in its latest counterproposal.
Among the major differences between the two sides’ stances: The union wants a cut of gross revenue, while the league is offering a piece of net revenue.
