WNBA commissioner stresses urgency to get labor deal done as negotiations drag on

During the fourth day of lengthy in-person meetings in New York between representatives of the WNBA and the players’ union, WNBA commissioner Cathy Engelbert told reporters that there is urgency to agree to the terms of a new collective bargaining agreement by Monday, The Athletic confirmed.

“I’ve never been a betting woman in my life, and I’m not going to start now. But we have to get a deal done by Monday,” Engelbert said Friday night. “We have to get it done without disrupting … this two team expansion (draft). We have to get expansion going. We got to get free agency going. We gotta get the college draft.”

Two weeks ago, the league had set a drop-dead date of March 10 for an agreement to ensure a full training camp and preseason schedule could take place, but negotiations continued this week as both sides told reporters they sensed more movement toward an agreement.

The WNBA and the WNPBA have frequently traded proposals over the last month and have now had four consecutive day-long bargaining sessions to try to come to an agreement. On Friday WNBPA vice president Napheesa Collier joined the meetings, according to reports, along with union president Nneka Ogwumike and co-vice president Breanna Stewart, who have been present at meetings since Tuesday.

The CBA expired on Jan. 9, after two extensions, following players opting out of their agreement in October 2024. The league and union have been trying to agree on a new economic model to compensate the owners and the players for the rapid growth the league has experienced the past two seasons.

Under the WNBA’s projected schedule, training camp will begin on April 19. A six-game preseason would start on April 25. The 2026 regular season is set to tip off May 8 with three games and a marquee game the following day between Caitlin Clark’s Indiana Fever and Paige Bueckers’ Dallas Wings.

A deal reached by the weekend might keep training camp, preseason games and the start of the regular season on schedule, but free agency will be severely shortened. The league was supposed to begin its free agency period — with more than 100 free agents — on Feb. 1, but the lack of an agreement has delayed the start, leaving players in limbo with the season looming.

The WNBA has not yet announced a date for the 2026 expansion draft, but sources throughout the WNBA told The Athletic in February that if a deal were struck by March 10, that Toronto and Portland would be making their picks on April 6, just after the Final Four. Details for how that draft would be operated are a part of the ongoing CBA negotiations.

The primary contention during negotiations has been the revenue-sharing system. The league has proposed a system that shares revenue after expenses. As of Thursday, that model would result in a salary cap of $6.2 million with players receiving 15.5 percent of gross revenue. The union has proposed sharing the revenue without deducting expenses to secure a larger share of gross revenue for the players. According to a source familiar with the negotiations, players have conceded to receiving less than 26 percent.