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On Monday, the WNBA informed the WNBPA and teams that a new collective bargaining agreement (CBA) must be agreed to by March 10 to avoid a delayed start to the 2026 WNBA season, according to ESPN’s Alexa Philippou.
Philippou writes, “It is thought to be the first deadline of sorts the league has provided players and teams as negotiations have dragged on and already disrupted the offseason.”
Philippou further reported that the WNBA and WNBPA held a bargaining session on Monday morning, with players involved. Over 50 players joined the virtual meeting, while the league side included league staff, members of the labor relations committee and team owners. The league’s March 10 target date was shared at the meeting, as the sides also discussed other points of contention.
Per Philippou, the league also met with team representatives on Monday, discussing the March 10 deadline and how teams could be expected to conduct offseason activity—a two-team expansion draft for the Toronto Tempo and Portland fire and free agency—on a compacted timeline.
A WNBA team executive previously told The IX Sports’ Howard Megdal, “We’re prepared to do it all in three weeks.”
Last week, Megdal also reported, “[T]he players were told they only have two weeks until ESPN begins to re-evaluate the television windows given to the WNBA in 2026.” It is unclear if the league chose to establish the March 10 deadline due to pressure from ESPN.
But according to Megdal, no one involved believes ESPN’s prospective timeline. He explained:
Multiple league sources did not doubt that a time could come when ESPN might consider bailing on some early-season windows. But one source pointed out just how much more ESPN is paying for media rights in 2026, while another suggested that the ratings the WNBA now receives makes walking away prohibitively expensive for the network.
For the first time in league history, the WNBA triggered revenue sharing with player
It also is unclear if, or to what degree, revenue sharing—the primary conflict between the two sides—was discussed in the meeting between the WNBA and players.
However, ESPN’s Katie Barnes reported that, for the first time in league history, the WNBA generated enough revenue to trigger revenue sharing with players, a provision of the 2020 CBA. According to Barnes:
Union leaders said the league notified player leadership earlier this month that they hit the benchmark. The 13 teams will receive a total of $8 million from the league to disperse among players, the union said.
Barnes further explained:
In 2025, the players’ portion of shared revenue amounted to about $16 million, according to the union. Of that, $8 million will be paid to players who were active in 2025, the union said. As mandated by the CBA, the other half ($8 million) will be allocated to league marketing agreements, which are offseason initiatives offered to some players to promote the league and its partners.
However, details remain murky as, “The union and the league have repeatedly declined to specify the amount of revenue needed to trigger the sharing,” with Barnes further noting that the WNBPA “declined to provide bank statements, the amount of revenue generated by the league or the number required to trigger the revenue sharing.”
WNBPA treasurer Brianna Turner did tell ESPN, “This shows our value and how what we’re fighting for makes sense and how we should keep fighting,”
The WNBPA looks toward next steps, including the distribution of $9.25 million in licensing revenue
Philippou also reported that WNBPA leadership plans to meet soon to discuss the league’s most recent counterproposal, among other issues.
The union also is working through the disbursement of $9.25 million from licensing revenue—jerseys, trading cards, video games and other merchandise—that has been generated since 2020. Over $2.5 million was generated in 2024, with revenue exceeding $10 million in 2025, according to the WNBPA.
Those payments will be determined by years played from 2020 to 2025, with a maximum of $50,000 to players who were active in each season. More than 250 players are expected to receive payments, including players who have retired or been released.
WNBPA executive director Terri Jackson told ESPN, “I’m just hopeful that this distribution gives them a little bit of comfort and a lot of confidence in what we’re doing,”
Also speaking to ESPN, WNBPA president Nneka Ogwumike added:
We’ve grown as a union and put our name, image and likeness into a collective package. The union exists for us to be able to represent all players, so I think it’s a great way for all players to be able to share in the growth.
