The WNBA told players this week that a new Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA) needs to be signed by March 10 so that the 2026 season can begin on May 8 — a date that may be feasible, but would also mean that a lot of key activities need to take place in a short span of time.
Per Front Office Sports, if a verbal agreement is made on March 10, it would be formally signed on March 31. After that, several things would happen in quick succession, First, expansion drafts for the Toronto Tempo and Portland Fire would need to be held between April 1 and 6. Fans who are paying attention ahead of the 2025 season likely remember that the Golden State Valkyries held their own expansion draft in December 2024, months before the beginning of the season.
The expansion drafts would be followed by a period of rapidfire free agency. Qualifying offers, which would include core designations, would promptly be sent out on April 7 and 8. Players and teams would have three days — April 9, 10, and 11 — to negotiate the terms of new deals, which would be signed between April 12 and April 18.
Training camp for most teams would begin on April 19, and the 2026 WNBA Draft would be held on April 13.
WNBA players were reportedly confused by the league's pressure
Front Office Sports also reported that the pressure by the league to set a date for the end of CBA negotiations was met with confusion from some players. This is especially true because the league waited six weeks to respond to a proposal from the players that was sent to the WNBA in December. (A source with knowledge of the negotiations previously told High Post Hoops the WNBA did not respond to the proposal quickly because it was the same as previously received proposals.)
A new CBA will not be agreed upon until all members of the WNPBA have had a chance to vote for it. The members of the WNBPA previosuly authorized the union's leadership to call for a work stoppage if necessary.
A source with knowledge of negotiations previously told High Post Hoops the WNBA has attempted to compromise with the players throughout CBA conversations, which began in October 2025 after the January 2020 CBA expired.
Per the source, the league has offered brand-new uncapped revenue-sharing system tied to both league and team revenue, a salary cap that grows with league and team revenue growth, an average player salary of more than $535,000 in the first year that would grow to more than $775,000 in 2031, and a maximum salary of nearly $1.3 million in the first year that would grow to nearly $2 million in 2031.
The league's most recent proposal also offers housing for all players in year one of a new deal.