The deadline for the WNBA to agree on a new contract with the players union is Friday, and it appears the two sides remain at a distance even after almost a year of negotiations.
This week marks the end of a second extension to the current contract, which should have expired on Oct. 31 after the 2025 season ended. It would not immediately force a strike from players, who voted last month to authorize a work stoppage, but it does raise concerns that this year's season may start with a lockout.
Without a tentative agreement by Friday, the expired contract would remain in place during the "status quo" period until a new deal is struck. But the league and the Women’s National Basketball Players Association have been negotiating for nearly a year and still appear to be far apart.
New York Liberty's Breanna Stewart is confident that a deal will get done, but that being done before the Friday deadline "is tough." She spoke to basketball blog Ballislife ahead of the Sports Illustrated Sportsperson of the Year gala on Tuesday.
“It’s kind of unfortunate that it’s taken this long, but hopefully we’re going to be able to turn the page soon and really kind of get deep into all the negotiations that we’ve been struggling to agree on," she said.
Where do the two sides stand on salary vs. revenue share?
It's unclear exactly where the closed-door negotiations stand as the deadline looms, but it the two sides remain at odds over salary and revenue sharing.
According to a person with knowledge of the situation, the latest proposal from the WNBA includes an uncapped revenue-sharing model. Within that, maximum salaries can exceed $1.3 million — approximately a 430% increase to what is is now — in the first year while growing to nearly $2 million. The average salary, currently $120,000, will increase above $530,000 in the first year with the potential to go above $780,000 over time.
The WNBA is also proposing increasing the minimum contract from $67,000 to $230,000, according to a person with knowledge of the situation.
Sources familiar with the discussions told ESPN last week that the union proposal suggested a 30% revenue share in addition to increased salary cap that would reach $10.5 million. The league believes this would result in $700 million in losses, which the union disagrees with, according to ESPN.
The current contract gives the players a 9% revenue share, compared with the NBA, which has about 50% of the revenue redistributed to players.
Total revenues between the two leagues, however, are vastly different. The NBA is projected to generate $14.3 billion this season, according to Sportico. The 12 teams in the WNBA, according to Forbes, brought in $226 million in revenue in 2024.
Part of the union's push for increased revenue sharing is following a surge in league popularity, the WNBA's lucrative new media rights deals — valued at approximately $2.2 billion — and the influx of revenue from fees paid for new expansion teams. The WNBA has asserted that using revenue numbers before subtracting expenses for running the league is not sustainable for the business.
WNBA Commissioner Cathy Engelbert described getting a collective bargaining agreement done as her "No. 1" priority in an interview on the "In Case You Missed It With Khristina Williams" podcast in September.
"We want to pay them significantly more given the growth in the league, but we also need to support the long-term growth and success of the league and the teams and the owners," Engelbert said.
Minnesota Lynx forward Napheesa Collier, who is on the union’s executive council, said Monday during an Unrivaled game broadcast that she felt a deal would come together though players are standing firm. She added that it would be a disservice to players to “take less than what we’re owed.”
“I think you’ve heard a lot of chatter about what we’re asking for is not sustainable for the business. Being on this side with Unrivaled, I know what it takes to run a sustainable business,” Collier said. “So I think if they can’t find a model that makes that happen, they need to put people in place who can.”
Collier co-founded the Unrivaled 3-on-3 basketball league with Stewart in 2023, and her husband, Alex Bazzell, serves as president.
What other issues are on the table?
The WNBA proposal last month included expanding the season to include training camps as early as March, a draft combine, and the removal of team-provided housing and cars, The Athletic reported then.
Expanding the league's preseason calendar would limit the options of players to take on employment in their offseason, which can make them more money than their WNBA contracts. Dallas Wings rising star Paige Bueckers will reportedly be paid more in her first year at Unrivaled, which runs from January to March, than in the entire four years of her WNBA rookie contract.
Fans have also pointed out that the proposal poses issues for college players, who end their season with the NCAA Tournament and enter the draft just weeks later. Rookies who do not attend the combine would see their salaries reduced by half, according to The Athletic.
A host of other issues that aren't as publicized are also on the negotiating table, such as retirement benefits, expanding rosters, requirements for training facilities and parental leave for non-birthing parents.
Will there be a lockout?
Among the biggest conversations regarding the current negotiations is speculation on whether the 2026 season will begin with a lockout.
The WNBA season doesn't begin until May, but there are other league-related events that need to happen before the first game of the year.
An expansion draft needs to take place for new teams Portland Fire and Toronto Tempo to fill up their rosters. Existing teams are allowed to protect up to five players from the draft, but those considerations depend on what their roster will look like under a new collective bargaining agreement with the union.
The WNBA Draft is expected to take place on April 13, but the expansion draft has yet to be scheduled.
A majority of WNBA players voted to authorize a strike in December, showing a willingness to withhold their labor if the union decided to take that step. When announcing the vote results last month, the union said its players “remain united, resolute, and prepared to fight for their value and their future.”
There has never been a lockout in the WNBA’s 30-year history.
Nneka Ogwumike, president of the players association, told ESPN after the vote that they were willing to do "whatever it takes" to ensure a high-quality deal for the players.
"This means we could possibly strike if we need to, but it doesn't mean that we want that to happen," Ogwumike said. "But we have it in our arsenal in order for us to get exactly what we need, which is a fair deal that represents our value in a very meaningful way."
