After months of failed negotiations and growing tensions, the WNBA and players’ union met for the first time in 2026 earlier this week to continue discussions to reach a new collective bargaining agreement. However, both sides found that they still had significant gaps to bridge. They apparently left the meeting with little, if any, movement toward compromise, with the season approaching in about three months.
This begs the question: where is the urgency?
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The last formal CBA proposal from either party was submitted by the National Women’s Basketball Players Association in late December. Even though the CBA extension expired and the normal offseason schedule was to begin with qualifying offers and core designations, no progress was made toward scheduling new meetings or proposing meaningful amendments to existing proposals.
There was supposed to be some movement at Monday’s session, but once again there were no new proposals or plans for another meeting. Instead, according to sources close to the negotiations, the union is still waiting for a response from the WNBA, as five weeks have passed with no indication of whether it would receive a counter.
Delay is a tactic. This can be effective in negotiations, even in a monumental union fight like this. However, this negotiation lasts 15 months. The WNBA has two drafts and a free agency period to run, as well as a huge television deal to meet. It would have been appropriate to drag its feet as a negotiating ploy earlier in the process, not when the league is actually missing scheduled events during the offseason. Free agency – which includes several stars around the league this offseason – should have started this week.
The WNBA is riding an unprecedented wave of goodwill after a period of meteoric growth. Players are more visible and supported than ever. Both sides need the conversation to get back to basketball instead of a prolonged labor dispute.
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They have a staring contest when they should be playing drums interest in the 30th WNBA seasona significant feat considering the precarious situation the league found itself in just a few years ago.
The time for discussing feelings and philosophies rather than concrete details is over. A process that began in October 2024 is expected to go further than defining progress as the parties deign to sit down in person. But both sides appear satisfied with the pace of negotiations, even as the WNBA and its players miss an opportunity to build momentum and expand their fan base.
“In all of women’s sports, I think this is one of the greatest moments we’ve ever had,” Caitlin Clark said on NBC’s Basketball Night in America on Sunday. “We’re in this situation because of the product we put on the floor, so we need to be able to continue to do that.”
A return to court begins with a resolution on revenue sharing. Both sides proposed significant salary increases and a salary structure tied to revenue growth: the WNBA’s latest proposal called for an average salary of $530,000 and a maximum salary of $1.3 million in the first year of the deal. The players’ most recent offer called for an average salary of more than $800,000. A divide, however, remains over what constitutes revenue and how to divide the overall pie.
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In addition, several other issues still require attention, including housing, minimum standards of facilities and benefits for retired players. However, negotiations cannot address these points until a salary structure has been agreed. And when it comes to salaries, it appears the two sides are speaking fundamentally different languages about how they evaluate the WNBA’s business.
This resulted in a situation in which, according to sources close to the negotiations, the league did not find it necessary to respond to the players’ latest proposal because it did not see enough changes, despite the players’ union’s insistence that it was trying to make concessions.
If the WNBA and union had reached an agreement at the end of the second overtime on Jan. 9, consider what the league’s alternate schedule would have looked like. The rest of January would have been spent preparing and organizing an expansion draft for the two expansion teams in Toronto and Portland. There would have been a celebration of the league’s growth to 15 franchises and intrigue about how Tempo and Fire chose to build their inaugural teams.
The beginning of February would have been the launch of free agency, which could be the most frenetic period of its kind in league history, as more than 100 players are unrestricted free agents. The NBA is in its own trading season with Thursday’s trade deadline and has become the talk of the sports world, even during Super Bowl week. The WNBA could have controlled its own part of the national conversation in what is sure to be an exciting free agency window. The conclusion of free agency would allow eyes to turn to college basketball in time for the playoffs in March, or perhaps the World Cup qualifying tournaments.
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WNBA players also normally participate in the NBA All-Star celebrity game. None are present in the February 13 2026 iteration. While I have issues with the inclusion of active professional basketball players in such an unserious event as the Celebrity Game, it is a popular stage to showcase the WNBA. When Golden State hosted the event in 2025, Kayla Thornton of the expansion Valkyries was on the celebrity roster, a notable tie-in for the new franchise.
In the current schedule, WNBA teams are still waiting for the first step. The expansion draft could coincide with March Madness, requiring front offices to multitask between that and their final draft scouting trips. Free agency news will have to share the spotlight with the basketball tournament and even the transfer portal, which opens after the national championship. Additional delays could change the order of the offseason schedule if the WNBA wishes to maintain the April 13 college draft date.
Assuming enough time is allocated for free agency and expansion drafts, the part of the schedule that would suffer the most could be training camp. The WNBA already offers a shorter training camp than other professional leagues; Reducing it further — which is often the case when schedules are condensed in professional sports — would decrease the quality of play to start the regular season and likely increase the risk of player injury.
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The league and union have so far avoided a work stoppage, preferring to negotiate in good faith. A call for a strike (initiated by players) or a lockout (initiated by owners) would alter the working relationship between the two parties, since players and owners would be prohibited from contacting each other outside of the bargaining table. None of these actions would fundamentally alter the course of what is to come: the season is already in jeopardy if a deal is not reached, whether or not it involves a work stoppage.
Currently, the status quo persists and there is no impetus for change towards a resolution.
While the league and players’ association are holding firm in negotiations, it’s unclear whether the gains they hope to make are worth sacrificing product in 2026.
This article was originally published in Athletics.
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