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The WNBA and the Players Association have reached a historic CBA after months of deliberation. Per a report by Alexa Philippou of ESPN, the WNBAPA ratified the new CBA in a unanimous vote, with the WNBA team owners set to vote on the deal soon.
“We understood that we wanted more. We understood we needed to be tied to the business in a meaningful way. … We always knew we wanted to stand firm.”
—WNBPA President @NnekaOgwumike on the WNBA’s new CBA 📈 pic.twitter.com/BbXew6r4Ye
— First Take (@FirstTake) March 23, 2026
WNBAPA President and Seattle Storm star Nneka Ogwumike joined ESPN’s First Take to speak about the deal and the strategy behind the negotiations.
“We’ve gone through an opt out before back in 2020 and then again a couple years ago,” Ogwmike explained. “And, and so we understood that we wanted more. We understood that we needed to be tied to the business in a meaningful way. And, I just really feel like we always knew that we wanted to stand firm, and it really was after that we got the strike authorization vote. Through that we understood that we had the leverage that we needed to get the deal that we wanted.”
With the new deal, the salary cap system also gets an overhaul. The salary cap will increase from 1.5 million to 7 million, with minimum contracts for players now being able to start beyond $300,000. Also noteworthy, WNBA stars can sign Supermax deals for $1.4 million, which significantly shifts the economics of free agency for the league. The seven-year agreement also features a rise in maximum salary to 2.4 million by 2032.
WNBA teams will now feature 12 roster spots while also being able to bring on two development players. The WNBA schedule will see an increase to 50 games in the 2027 and 2028 seasons, and 52 games in the 2029 to 2032 seasons.
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