The WNBA and the WNBPA agreed to a handshake deal in the early hours Wednesday morning, the first step toward ratifying a new CBA.
The deal comes 17 months after WNBA players opted out of the agreement signed in January 2020, and has begun to put to bed worries that the 2026 WNBA season will be delayed or cancelled outright. While speaking to reporters this morning, Commissioner Cathy Engelbert made it clear that the season will begin on May 8, and training camp for all athletes will begin on April 19.
That gives the league just over a month to organize everything that needs to take place before then. The Toronto Tempo and Portland Fire will hold expansion drafts, free agency will begin and players already in the league will sign new deals, and the 2026 WNBA Draft will take place. But before all of that, it's important to pause and appreciate what the members of the WNBPA have done for themselves and for future generations of athletes.
The new CBA will benefit generations of athletes
The terms of the new CBA haven't been shared yet, but representatives for the league and for the union have indicated they're happy with the results. Engelbert described the deal as "a fair win-win for all" and WNBPA executive director Terri Carmichael told reporters, "Cathy and her team understood that the players' wins were the league's wins and that our stories of success are shared stories of success, period."
But it was Nneka Ogwumike's statements that really jumped out. As president of the union, Ogwumike has been measured and calm throughout most of the proceedings. She's spoken when necessary and has been a strong presence throughout the protracted discussions — exactly the kind of leadership the union needed through what has been a tumultuous and challenging time.
Ogwumike made it clear that the new CBA will benefit players in the league now, but that future generations of athletes were at the heart of the conversation, too. "I really feel like a lot of what we were at the table for was for the next generation," Ogwumike said after the announcement. "When we consider the next 10 years, this is really going to continue to catapult us."
The players at the WNBA don't have to consider future generations if they don't want to; after all, they could go back to the drawing board in five or six years when this CBA expires — and it's possible they will. But it shows just how important the game and the WNBA are to the union and its leadership that the future of their fellow athletes — many of whom they don't even know yet — was always at the core of their back and forth with the league.
That's something that's special, and it can't be taken for granted. The WNBA has always blazed trails for women in sports (and, honestly, women everywhere), and the CBA negotiations were no different.