The Negotiation History
The path to a new Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA) between the Women’s National Basketball Association (WNBA) and the Women’s National Basketball Players Association (WNBPA) was neither short nor simple. Players opted out of the prior CBA more than seventeen months before a tentative deal was finally struck in March 2026. From the moment the 2025 WNBA Finals concluded on October 10, 2025, both sides were locked in what would become some of the most strenuous labor negotiations in women’s professional sports history. Concerns mounted throughout the winter and into early spring about whether the 2026 season would begin on schedule– or at all.
The main point of contention between the parties was revenue sharing. Under the previous agreement, salary caps were fixed numbers that increased by a modest three percent annually. Critics argued this structure decoupled player pay from the league’s explosive financial growth. Players, emboldened by surging ticket sales, record television viewership, landmark media deals with Disney, Amazon Prime Video, and NBAUniversal, and the star power of a new generation of talent, were determined to claim a direct share of the revenue their performances were generating. The union’s leadership advised members to sign only short-term contracts in years leading up to negotiations, deliberately engineering a situation in which the vast majority of the league’s players would enter free agency simultaneously.
The final stretch of negotiations was particularly grueling. The parties spent more than 100 hours in in-person bargaining sessions during the last week alone before reaching a verbal agreement in the early hours of March 18, 2026. A formal term sheet was signed on March 20, and the WNBA announced the tentative deal that evening, pending ratification by the players and approval by the WNBA Board of Governors.
The Key Terms of the 2026 CBA
The new seven-year agreement, running from the 2026 season through 2032, has been widely characterized as transformational, and the label is certainly warranted. Its most significant structural innovation is the establishment of the first comprehensive revenue-sharing model in women’s professional sports history. Rather than predetermined, fixed salary caps, the new cap will be tied directly to league and team revenue growth, giving players essentially unlimited upside as the WNBA’s business continues to expand. Reports indicate that players will receive approximately 20 percent of gross league and team revenue under the deal.
The immediate financial impact is dramatic. The salary cap jumps from $1.5 million in 2025 to $7.0 million for the 2026 season and is projected to exceed $10 million by the final year of the agreement. The maximum (supermax) annual salary rises from $249,244 in 2025 to $1.4 million in 2026, with projections showing it could reach $2.4 million by 2032. League-wide average salaries are expected to land around $583,000 in 2026, up from roughly $120,000 in 2025, and are projected to surpass $1 million annually by the agreement’s end. Even the minimum salary, which ranges from $270,000 to $300,000 in 2026 depending on years of service, now exceeds what had been the prior supermax figure.
Beyond salaries, the CBA includes significant improvements to player experience and working conditions– codified charter air travel, upgraded team facilities, enhanced performance bonuses, improved 401(k) contributions, expanded benefits for players who are parents or are family planning, and recognition payments for veterans and retirees. The agreement also raises the minimum roster size to twelve players, with two additional developmental spots exempt from the salary cap. On the schedule side, games will increase from 44 per season in 2026 to up to 50 in 2027-2028 and 52 from 2029 through 2032.
What the Deal Means for Players
The CBA’s impact on individual player compensation is sweeping, but perhaps nowhere is it more striking than its treatment of players still on rookie contracts. Under the previous agreement, even All-Stars were locked into the low salaries prescribed by their initial deals until those contracts expired. The new CBA breaks that pattern.
A key mechanism is a provision known as EPIC– Exceptional Performance on Initial Contract– which creates an expedited pathway to maximum and supermax contracts for rookie-scale players who earn MVP honors or All-WNBA First or Second Team selections. The practical effect is substantial. Indiana Fever guard Caitlin Clark, for instance, earned $78,066 in 2025 and was on track to make $85,973 in what would have been her third season under the old structure. Under the new CBA, because she had already earned All-WNBA recognition, her salary is set at $530,000, and she could reach a projected max of $1.3 million in 2027 followed by a supermax in 2028. Similarly, Paige Bueckers, the No. 1 pick in 2025, would have made $80,408 in 2026 under the old deal; instead, she will make $499,200, with a max contract available in 2027. The No. 1 pick in the upcoming 2026 draft will earn a base salary of $500,000.
For veterans and established stars, the new cap environment unlocks multi-million dollar contracts that did not exist in the WNBA before. A’ja Wilson, Breanna Stewart, Napheesa Collier, and Kelsey Mitchell are among the marquee free agents expected to benefit most immediately from the expanded salary structure. Additionally, starting in 2027, players with seven or more years or service will no longer be subject to core player designations, a provision that expands veteran mobility.
What Comes Next: Expansion, Free Agency, and the Road to Opening Night
With the CBA framework in place, the WNBA now faces what may be the most compressed and consequential offseason in league history. The previous agreement expired in October 2025, meaning all of the business that typically unfolds over several months– expansion draft, free agency, college draft, and the start of training camps– must now be completed in roughly six weeks before the season opens on May 8, 2026.
First up is the expansion draft, tentatively scheduled for April 6, at which the two newest WNBA franchises, the Portland Fire and Toronto Tempo, will begin building their inaugural rosters. Each of the league’s thirteen existing teams is expected to protect approximately five players, leaving the remaining unprotected players eligible for selection. The two expansion clubs will take turns drafting until each receives a twelve-player roster, though the precise format has not yet been finalized. One complication is that each expansion team can select only one unrestricted free agent, which is a significant constraint given that more than 75 percent of the league enters this offseason as free agents.
Free agency follows immediately, with player designations expected April 7-8, negotiations opening April 9, and signings permitted from April 12-18. The scale of this free agency class is unprecedented, as nearly the entire league is available. This wide-scale availability is a direct result of the union’s deliberate strategy of steering members toward shorter contracts in the years leading up to this CBA. Some agents and front office executives have suggested the tight timeline could favor incumbent teams, with players opting for familiar situations rather than navigating a complex market under time pressure. Others believe the sheer volume of money now available will fuel significant movement across the league.
The college draft is set for April 13 in New York City, running concurrently with free agency. The Dallas Wings hold the No. 1 overall pick for the second consecutive year, with top prospects including UConn’s Azzi Fudd, Spanish center Awa Fam, and UCLA’s Lauren Betts. The draft expands to 45 total picks with the addition of Toronto and Portland. Training camps open April 19, preseason games begin April 25, and the regular season tips off May 8.
Looking further ahead, the WNBA’s expansion trajectory is substantial. Following Portland and Toronto in 2026, franchises in Cleveland (2028), Detroit (2029), and Philadelphia (2030) will bring the league to a record 18 teams. The 2026 All-Star Weekend will be hosted by the Chicago Sky on July 24-25, and a FIBA Women’s World Cup break is built into the schedule from August 30 through September 16. The regular season concludes September 24, with playoffs beginning September 27.
For the WNBA, the new CBA represents far more than a labor agreement. It is a structural realignment of the league’s financial architecture. Whether the league can successfully execute an unprecedented compressed offseason while managing the complexity of two expansion teams, a massive free agency class, and historic salary levels will be an early test of whether the transformational promise of this deal translates into sustained institutional competence.
Sources:
Official Press Release, WNBA and WNBPA Reach Tentative Deal on Historic Collective Bargaining Agreement, WNBA (Mar 20, 2026).
Kendra Andrews, Breaking down the packed WNBA offseason after CBA delays, ESPN (Mar 23, 2026).
Jack Maloney, What’s next for WNBA after new CBA? Key dates for 2026 season include expansion draft, condensed free agency, CBS Sports (Mar 18, 2026).
Sabreena Merchant, What’s next for the WNBA after reaching a historic CBA deal?, The Athletic (Mar 18, 2026).
Jack Baer, Here’s how much more money Caitlin Clark is set to make under the new WNBA CBA, Yahoo Sports (Mar 20, 2026).
As a second-year law student at UB Law, I've found my calling at the intersection of sports, labor law, and collective bargaining. Growing up watching professional basketball and football, I was always captivated by the games, but in law school, I developed a deep interest in what happens off the court and field.
I'm particularly drawn to the high-stakes world of CBA negotiations, where leagues and players' unions negotiate over revenue sharing, workplace protections, and compensation models. Through this blog, I analyze the legal strategies behind sports headlines, breaking down complex labor disputes, arbitration cases, and contract negotiations.
This is where my love of sports meets my dedication to law. Welcome to the conversation!
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