It’s now been seven days past the WNBA’s unofficial deadline of March 10 get a new CBA in place without 2026 season dates being impacted. Well the league has not announced any impact to the season yet, as negotiations for a new WNBA CBA appear to be heading in the right directions. Progress is reportedly being made, as per Alexa Philippou of ESPN.
Following the latest round of negotiations, WNBPA executive director Terri Jackson and outside counsel Deb Willig acknowledged that big issues still remain as far as a new WNBA CBA, that they believe for the first time that real progress has been made. Willig also expressed hope that a term sheet could get done in less than 24 hours.
While an outline of a new CBA wouldn’t be the end all of the process, it would present a significant step towards inching closer to getting the season underway. The current date for the start of the 2026 WNBA season is May 8. But before the season can begin, the WNBA still has to account for a free agency period, as well as expansion drafts for the Toronto Tempo and Portland Fire.
There is also the issue of preseason and training camp, as well as standard WNBA Draft. During the offseason, players have been participating in Unrivaled, Athletes Unlimited, overseas leagues and Team USA for the FIBA Women’s World Cup Qualifiers.
As the talks remain ongoing, two issues that have moved to the forefront of the negotiations between the players and the league are revenue sharing and housing.
