Fans are used to bad news when it comes to the CBA negotiations by now. Monday’s in-person meeting between several players, Cathy Engelbert, and a number of team owners brought more disappointing news. There is still no new CBA—in fact, the league wasn’t even prepared to counter the WNBPA’s latest proposal from December—and the players still aren’t ruling out a strike.
The two sides seemingly came into the meeting with very different hopes and expectations. Front Office Sports’ Annie Costabile reported that Nneka Ogwumike said, “They volunteered that they did not have a proposal at the top of the meeting. That kind of set the tone for the conversation because we were hoping to hear otherwise.”
Costabile also reported that the three-hour meeting was mostly used to give both sides a chance to explain their latest proposals and that the league would start working on a response to the players’ latest offer. While it is good to hear about some expected movement, the league’s promise to prepare a response is a flimsy silver lining at best.
Nneka Ogwumike and Alysha Clark reportedly questioned the league’s sense of urgency—something the WNBPA has lamented since August. And for good reason. While many details are somewhat murky to anyone not directly involved with the negotiations and there are many things we don’t know for certain, it definitely doesn’t seem like the league is operating with the necessary urgency. After all, why is it taking the league so long to present a new proposal if it was so unhappy with the players’ latest offer? Why weren’t they prepared to discuss a counteroffer at the meeting?
The clock is ticking
The two sides obviously don’t see eye-to-eye on some issues, but a strike or lockout wouldn’t truly benefit anyone. Without games, no money comes into the league and players lose their biggest on-court platform. Players have many opportunities now, ranging from playing in the top leagues in Europe, Australia, or Asia to Unrivaled and Athletes Unlimited to the still somewhat mysterious Project B. But the WNBA is the most established league in the U.S., and that matters for brand deals and partnerships.
Delaying the 2026 season wouldn’t be nearly as bad, but also not ideal considering that the WNBA already released a schedule.
The regular season is scheduled to tip off on May 8 with some big games, like a first showdown between the Fever and Wings and a finals rematch between the Mercury and Aces. That doesn’t leave a lot of time for the league and the WNBPA to sign a new CBA and for everything else that needs to happen before the season can start: the expansion draft for the Fire and Tempo, free agency, the college draft, and training camps.
Considering that timeline, the league’s seeming lack of urgency is even more baffling.