WNBA Reportedly Gives WNBPA Deadline Date to Reach New CBA Without Impact on Regular-Season Schedule

The WNBA reportedly gave the Women's National Basketball Players Association a deadline to avoid changes to the 2026 season amid the negotiations between the two sides for a new collective bargaining agreement.

ESPN's Alexa Philippou reported Monday the league told the WNBPA a term sheet for a new CBA needs to be done by March 10 in order to avoid changes to the schedule that has already been released.

Despite the ongoing negotiations, the WNBA released its schedule for the upcoming season last month.

The campaign is slated to start May 8 with each team scheduled to play 44 games in what will be the league's 30th season. The schedule also features the two newest teams in the Portland Fire and Toronto Tempo.

However, changes will eventually have to be made if the two sides can't come to terms on an agreement.

The WNBA added another element to the negotiations with the pressure of a deadline, which was notable given comments from NBA commissioner Adam Silver at All-Star Weekend when he told reporters, "What I would love to do is put pressure on everyone. Often, things tend to get done at the 11th hour. We're getting awfully close to the 11th hour when it comes to bargaining."

Philippou added more context to the potential urgency of the situation:

This comes after ESPN's Katie Barnes reported Monday that the WNBA generated enough revenue during the 2025 campaign to trigger revenue sharing with its players, although the league and WNBPA did not share what that revenue number was to trigger such a provision under the previous CBA.

That means the teams will receive a total of $8 million to disperse among their players.

"This shows our value and how what we're fighting for makes sense and how we should keep fighting," WNBPA treasurer Brianna Turner said.

Barnes noted there was a bargaining meeting between players and league staff Monday following proposals from each side. The latest proposal from the union calls for players to receive 27.5% of gross revenue with a salary cap of less than $9.5 million in the first year, while the league's latest proposal calls for players to receive 70% of net revenue and a $5.65 million salary cap in the first year.

The negotiations now have something of a deadline as well following the latest development, at least if there aren't going to be changes to the schedule.