The Portland Fire waited 24 years to return to the WNBA, but they might have to wait even longer

The Portland Fire are scheduled to take the court for the first time in a couple of months, returning to the WNBA after a 24-year hiatus. But ongoing collective bargaining agreement negotiations between the league and the players association are threatening that timeline in a big way.

Over the past week, the WNBA and the Women’s National Basketball Players Association have exchanged proposals in a way that signals that a collective bargaining agreement could be getting closer.

On Yahoo Sports’ Hoops 360 show, Minnesota Lynx forward and WNBPA vice president Napheesa Collier said she is hopeful that things are getting closer to an agreement.

“I think that things are moving like, we are not where we want to be, but I think negotiations are trending in the right direction,” Collier said. “And that’s what you want. You want movement. You don’t want to be in a stalemate. You want there to be hope for the future. And I do have that. I think there has to be a lot of movement in a lot of places in the CBA. But the fact that we are moving, I think, is really hopeful.”

Alexa Philippou of ESPN reported that the WNBPA most recently proposed for an average of 27.5% of the WNBA’s gross revenue and a salary cap of $9.5 million. The players union’s December proposal was asking for 31% of the league’s gross revenue and a salary cap of $10.5 million.

The WNBA also made some concessions in its recent proposal, including offering housing to players who are newer to the league or for those on minimum salary contracts.

But while both sides seem to be getting closer to a CBA, Collier said the chance of the 2026 season being affected is still on the table. The Fire will face a very short offseason regardless of the outcome.

Collier also made it clear that a work stoppage is on the table.

“For the past, I would say, like, year and a half, the executive committee has been urging everyone to save their money because we knew the negotiations were coming up,” Collier said on Hoops 360. “We never know what’s going to happen, you know, if there’s not a season, we want to make sure everyone’s prepared … We want a season to happen, but if we don’t get the things that we are wanting to stay 10 toes down on, then we’re gonna sit out for as long as that takes. Like, that’s not what anyone wants, but it’s what we’re willing to do in order to get the things that we feel are fair.”

When a collective bargaining agreement is finally put in place, the WNBA will need to schedule both an expansion draft (for the Portland Fire and the Toronto Tempo) and the 2026 WNBA Draft.

There will also be an abridged free agency period, as the originally free agency period was supposed to start on Jan. 11. Free agency was put on ice as the WNBA and the WNPBA went into a moratorium period as negotiations went far beyond the deadline of the previous CBA extension.

The Portland Fire are scheduled to play a preseason game on April 29, at Seattle. The first home game is May 3 in another preseason game against Los Angeles. The season is supposed to start on May 9 against the Chicago Sky.

No matter when the CBA is signed, the Portland Fire and Toronto Tempo will have only weeks to fully assemble a team and start practicing before the start of the 2026 season.