The WNBA and WNBA Players Association agreed late Sunday night to extend their collective bargaining agreement until Jan. 9, 2026, and continue negotiations toward a new agreement.
The announcement came just before the CBA’s expiration at 11:59 p.m. ET on Sunday, which was the first extension after the initial deadline of Oct. 31. The players exercised their opt-out of that agreement last year, with player salaries and the revenue-sharing model among their key issues.
The WNBA, in a statement to ESPN, announced the extension of about 40 days “with either party having the option to terminate the extension with 48 hours’ advance notice.”
ESPN reported that the players union moved from a proposed 24-hour extension to six weeks, while the league offered 21 days before the agreed new timetable.
“We expect substantive movement from the league within this window,” the union said in a statement to ESPN.
Failure to reach an agreement could result in a work stoppage with the players going on strike or the owners initiating a lockout.
They also could continue with the current CBA or agree to a new one, though the sides seem far apart in negotiations, per reports.
Two weeks ago, according to multiple reports, the WNBA proposed a maximum player salary of more than $1.1 million. The league’s CBA proposal, which would include revenue sharing, would set the league minimum at more than $220,000 and allow more than one player per team to make the maximum salary, per the reports. The figures would grow each year.
The league’s minimum salary for the 2025 season was $66,079 and its supermax contract was $249,244, per an ESPN report.
The WNBPA were not receptive to the proposal, ESPN reported. They would prefer a salary cap system that grows with the economics of the league, such as in the NBA, which ties the salary cap directly to business-related income.
The players also are making priorities of minimum standards in facilities, charter travel policies and expanded retirement and family planning benefits, ESPN reported.
The league seeks to build sustained profitability after operating in the past at losses, while increasing player salaries and other spending with owners investing in operations, per the report.
–Field Level Media
Comments