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After more than 100 hours of negotiations, the WNBA and WNBPA have verbally agreed to a new collective bargaining agreement (CBA).
Both sides shared the news with reporters in the lobby of a Midtown Manhattan hotel just before 3 a.m. ET.
No details about the agreement have yet to be divulged. After a formal term sheet is finalized, the agreement must be ratified by the players and the WNBA board of governors.
However, the 2026 WNBA season, the 30th in league history, will not be delayed, with tip off proceeding as scheduled on Friday, May 8. Both sides reportedly celebrated the agreement with a champagne toast.
WNBA Commissioner Cathy Engelbert told the on-site reporter quartet of ESPN’s Alexa Philippou, Front Office Sports’ Annie Costabile, the AP’s Doug Feinberg and The IX Sports’ Jackie Powell:
The progress made in these discussions marks a transformative step forward for players and the league, and it’s underscoring a shared commitment to the continued growth of the game.
It’s [been] a process, but we’re very proud to be leading in women’s sports, and these players are amazing, and we’re going to have an amazing 30th season tipping off in May.
Engelbert further described the deal as “a fair win-win deal for all.”
WNBPA executive director Terri Carmichael Jackson similarly shared an optimistic assessment of the agreement, saying:
I think this can be summed up in two words: Player empowerment … players coming to the table and standing on business and being reminded of the collective voice and of what it means to be in a union and the power of this union.
They never forgot it, and they have taken it, like they always do, to the next level.
Details about the revenue sharing system the sides agreed to—the issue that was the primary point of contention throughout negotiations—will be anticipated.
On what the new deal will mean for players, Nneka Ogwumike, WNBPA president, asserted:
For the first time, player salaries are tied to a truly meaningful share of league revenue, driving exponential growth in the salary cap, increasing average compensation beyond half a million dollars, and raising the professional standard across facilities, staffing, and support.
It strengthens housing and retirement, and expands resources for family planning and parental leave. It redefines what it means to be a professional in this league.
WNBPA vice president Breanna Stewart, who, like Ogwumike, was present for all of the recent bargaining sessions, additionally expressed:
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. Just excited that we can tell our fans that we’re going to be back.
Alysha Clark, who also is a WNBPA vice president and was present for the majority of the bargaining, offered more positivity:
What we just accomplished is going to change the lives of so many players.
And speaking from experience, players like me are going to be the ones that I think feel it the most, and that’s what I think we’re all super proud of, because that’s what we set out from the beginning, was making sure every player felt the change in the CBA, and that’s exactly what has happened.
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