Thanksgiving week is typically a time for rest and reflection. But in midtown New York in the coming days, the WNBA and WNBA Players' Association (WNBPA) will be hard at work at the bargaining table as they continue to work toward a new collective bargaining agreement with a deadline looming.
The current CBA is set to expire Sunday after both sides agreed to a 30-day extension in late October. The negotiations can continue into December, and a deadline could be extended again, but time is ticking as the end of the calendar year approaches, with a two-team expansion draft and packed free agency period still needing to take place this offseason.
ESPN has everything you need to know about the CBA negotiations and what might happen from here.
Nov. 26 updates
What did the WNBPA think of the WNBA's recent proposal?
News broke last week that the WNBA had proposed a deal including a revenue sharing component that, in combination with a base salary, would allow players to earn a maximum salary of more than $1.1 million, on average more than $460,000 and a minimum of more than $220,000.
But the WNBPA did not see that proposal as something that moved negotiations forward, sources told ESPN on Thursday.
ESPN canvassed players across the league for their thoughts on the league's proposal and a common theme emerged: that there was work to still be done in securing the revenue share system the players have been advocating for. So much so that one player called the league's proposal a "slap in the face," and another described it as "frustrating."
In 2025, the league's minimum salary was $66,079 and its supermax was $249,244, so the proposal did include significant salary increases. But sources told ESPN that the union does not see the league's proposal as including a system in which the salary cap and player salaries sufficiently grow with the business, a longstanding demand of the players since they opted out of the current CBA in October 2024.
In the current CBA, the salary cap increased annually by a fixed rate (3%), coming in at $1,507,100 in 2025, and a separate revenue sharing provision called for direct payments to players if the league hit certain revenue targets. Largely due to the COVID-19-impacted seasons of 2020 and 2021, that component was not triggered over the course of the agreement.
Instead of a fixed salary cap, the players instead want a salary system based more directly on revenue, such as in the NBA, in which the salary cap is determined by basketball-related income (BRI).
The league previously said in a statement it has proposed "significant guaranteed salary cap increases and substantial uncapped revenue sharing that enables player salaries to grow as the league's business grows." The union responded in a statement that said the proposal "put lipstick on a pig and retread a system that isn't tied to any part of the business and intentionally undervalues the players."
What is the latest on where negotiations stand? What happens if there isn't a deal reached by Sunday?
The league and union have sent updated proposals back and forth since last week. Even with the Thanksgiving holiday approaching, they are planning to meet throughout the week and into the weekend ahead of Sunday's deadline.
The league and WNBPA could agree to another extension at the deadline; even if that doesn't happen, a work stoppage would not automatically follow. They could continue bargaining under a phase called "status quo," in which the working conditions of the current CBA would remain in place. But a lack of an extension could open the door for a strike (initiated by players) or lockout (initiated by owners).
What's the latest on the expansion draft?
As the CBA deadline continues to be pushed back, so does the expansion draft for the Portland Fire and Toronto Tempo, who will both be playing their inaugural seasons in 2026.
The expansion draft would be among the first order of business once a new CBA is put in place, and a league source told ESPN both teams are trying to prepare for it. But they are "working with more questions than answers."
Last year, the Golden State Valkyries were told the format of their expansion draft one month before the Dec. 6 draft night. Golden State was informed of the list of protected players from the other preexisting teams 11 days before the draft. As it stands, Portland and Toronto have "nothing."
A coin flip will eventually be held with the winner picking whether they select No. 6 in the college draft and No. 2 in the expansion draft, or No. 7 in the college draft and No. 1 in the expansion draft -- but a date has not yet been set for when that will take place.
The uncertainty has hindered the Fire's and Tempo's ability to strategize as much as they'd like at this point in the offseason, the source said.
Though nothing is set in stone, they anticipate the WNBA to model this expansion draft similarly, if not the same as, the 2000 expansion draft, the last time there was a multiteam expansion.
In that year's draft, preexisting teams were allowed to protect five players on their current roster. The league source told ESPN that is probably what will happen again for the Fire and Tempo. Last year, teams were allowed to protect six players from the Valkyries.
Sources said the expectation is for Toronto and Portland to be allowed to select only one free agent each, but that hasn't been confirmed. The league source said about 85% of current players are free agents this winter, which makes it tricky for the expansion teams to decide who they want to select. If they take a player from a team that is entering free agency, that player can still leave the expansion franchise and sign elsewhere as a free agent later.
WNBA free agency typically starts Jan. 11, with contracts able to be signed starting Feb. 1, and the season annually tipping off in May. But as negotiations linger, the source said that they are preparing for an expedited calendar. And in one extreme scenario, the source said they are even prepping for the expansion draft, free agency and college draft to all be held between March and the beginning of April.
Nov. 19 update
What priorities are top of mind at the bargaining table?
The conversation over salary structure and revenue share has long been the centerpiece of this CBA negotiation. While meaningful salary increases are expected for the players as they capitalize off an infusion of capital and investment in the sport, both sides haven't seen eye to eye on what those systems should look like.
Those were among several priorities the players emphasized when they opted out of the current CBA in October 2024. The biggest issues also include establishing minimum professional standards in facilities and codifying the league's charter travel program that was introduced at the beginning of the 2024 season.
The league has said it wants to substantially increase player salaries and other cost commitments, while also incentivizing owners to continue to invest in operating the business. The WNBA's tremendous growth in recent years provides an opportunity for the business to go from operating at losses to building sustained profitability.
Expanding retirement and pregnancy/family planning benefits have also been at the forefront for players. After 40-plus players met with the league ahead of All-Star Weekend in late July, Breanna Stewart, a vice president with the WNBPA, said those topics were the only two bullet points both sides had agreed on at that time.
Prioritization, a set of rules that requires WNBA players competing in other leagues to show up in time for WNBA training camp or else be suspended for the season, became a controversial topic after it was introduced in the last CBA. But it's unlikely owners would want to loosen those rules, especially amid expected WNBA salary increases. A source told ESPN that the topic has not largely figured into negotiations so far and that it's not considered a major point of contention.
Players have also expressed a desire to weaken or abolish entirely the "core" system, akin to the NFL's franchise tag, which was already largely reduced in the past CBA. But the league is unlikely to want to give that up entirely as it provides teams the opportunity to develop and retain drafted talent, which can create a leveling competitive effect.
The league's hard cap and 12-player roster limits (many franchises carry only 11 players) have often frustrated team personnel. WNBA commissioner Cathy Engelbert has previously said that the league prefers expansion as a way to grow its size rather than adding roster spots, while the league prefers not to soften the cap, a source said, as it believes some teams significantly outspending others would create an unlevel field of competition.
Another topic to be sorted is the number of games and scheduling moving forward; there were a maximum of 44 games allowed under the current CBA, and while the league can't always keep the same exact footprint due to international competitions, Engelbert has said the league would like to try to stick to May through October, with some overlap into November as needed in a year like 2026, when the WNBA will break for the FIBA World Cup.
Do leagues such as Unrivaled or Project B impact negotiations?
WNBA players have competed in other leagues -- historically, internationally -- since the league's inception. But the domestic landscape changed dramatically this past year when Unrivaled -- a 3-on-3 league founded by Stewart and Napheesa Collier -- launched its inaugural season, which ran from January to March.
Unrivaled has characterized itself as an alternative for players who want to supplement their incomes without going overseas during the WNBA offseason, and league personnel have said Unrivaled isn't meant to be a competitor to the WNBA. Still, some players have indicated they hope Unrivaled, with its high salaries and impressive player amenities, can apply pressure to the WNBA during this current round of CBA negotiations.
Unrivaled offered players equity last year and moving forward aims to provide an average salary of $200,000, what the league claims is the highest average salary in women's professional team sports.
Over the past few weeks, a new league called Project B has announced its intention to debut in November 2026 and run through April 2027, with WNBPA president Nneka Ogwumike, Alyssa Thomas, Jonquel Jones and Jewell Loyd among its first public signees. The league's model features 66 players playing on an international circuit across Europe and Asia, similar to a Formula 1 format.
In addition to having player equity, their salaries are reported to reach seven figures, above what's offered by both the WNBA and Unrivaled (the latter's schedule directly conflicts with Project B's schedule). Like Unrivaled, Project B says it's not a competitor league to the WNBA.
While prioritization rules ensure WNBA players arrive on time to training camp, the league has no plans of asking for exclusivity -- that its players only play in the WNBA and nowhere else in the offseason -- during this round of negotiations, a source said.
Will WNBA draft eligibility change in this CBA?
The start of the college season has evoked a familiar question for basketball fans: Should the WNBA change its draft eligibility rules? Unlike the one-and-done rule in the NBA, players must be 22 years old in the calendar year of the WNBA draft to be eligible (unless they have graduated early). International players need to turn 20 during the calendar year of the draft to be eligible.
A source told ESPN that draft eligibility hasn't been a meaningful topic of discussion in negotiations thus far.
Is there any news regarding the expansion draft?
As we've previously addressed, holding the WNBA expansion draft for the Toronto Tempo and Portland Fire is one of the first things that will be done once a new CBA is in place. The parameters for the expansion draft are supposed to be set in the new CBA, so teams haven't been given any rules or guidelines.
But the expectation is that a coin flip will determine which of the two newcomers will pick first in the college and expansion drafts (i.e. whichever team goes first in the expansion draft will pick seventh in the college draft, and whoever goes second in the expansion draft will pick sixth in the college draft; the No. 6 pick is the first selection following the lottery picks).
The expansion draft for the Golden State Valkyries was held Dec. 6 with the league's 12 teams allowed to protect six players. Golden State selected 11 players, taking one from every team except Seattle.
Since this expansion draft will have two teams building rosters, it's thought that perhaps the league's other teams might only be able to protect five players this time.
Oct. 30 update
What is the biggest issue keeping the sides apart?
In public comments, players have implied that the two sides are effectively speaking different languages at the bargaining table, with the major sticking point being what a salary system and revenue sharing should look like.
NBA commissioner Adam Silver said on the "Today" show in October that WNBA players can expect a "big increase" in their salaries. But the players are seeking a salary system that grows with the business (such as in the NBA, which uses basketball-related income to determine its salary cap) over a fixed-rate model in the current CBA, where the salary cap raises annually by 3%. The league's salary cap was $1,507,100 in 2025, with a minimum salary of $66,079 and a supermax of $249,244.
The current CBA also has a revenue sharing provision that would result in direct payments to players if the league hits certain revenue targets, but it hasn't yet been triggered.
Silver said on the "Today" show that share "isn't the right way to look at it because there's so much more revenue in the NBA," suggesting that expense might still consume a very significant portion of the revenue pie compared to other sports leagues.
The WNBPA said in October that the league has "put lipstick on a pig and retread a system that isn't tied to any part of the business and intentionally undervalues the players."
The league, on its part, has insisted it has offered an "uncapped revenue sharing model that is directly tied to the league's performance." And it has continued to maintain that it wants to, as WNBA commissioner Cathy Engelbert put it during the WNBA Finals, "balance the significant increase in salaries and benefits with the long-term viability of the league" and that so far "the Players Association has yet to offer a viable economic proposal."
What happens if there's no deal at the end of the 30 days?
Another extension is always possible, although the WNBA has a lot to fit into this offseason. And even if the deal expires, a work stoppage would not automatically follow.
There doesn't technically need to be an extension for both sides to continue bargaining -- instead they'd enter a phase called "status quo" in which the working conditions of the current CBA would remain in place.
The problem: If there isn't an extension, it would open the door for a potential work stoppage, either a strike initiated by the players or a lockout initiated by the owners. So far, that isn't an overwhelming concern. Even before the extension was agreed to on Oct. 30, sources leaguewide said they did not believe a work stoppage was imminent.
What about this condensed offseason schedule? What needs to happen before the next season can start?
A lot, starting with an expansion draft for the Portland Fire and Toronto Tempo. Once that's concluded, free agency offers unprecedented uncertainty with nearly half of the league's players unrestricted.
The situation is very different from the CBA negotiations that dragged well into the spring of 2003. That CBA introduced free agency for the first time, and only for a limited number of players, meaning the league could go from preliminary agreement with players on a deal April 18 to training camp starting two weeks later on May 1 -- with both the WNBA draft and a dispersal draft in between.
We did see the NBA go from a preliminary agreement to end its 2011 lockout on Nov. 26 to training camps beginning Dec. 9, less than two weeks later, but the league was able to hold free agency at the same time. That's not realistic given the scope of WNBA free agency, and the new CBA could overhaul the salary cap in the WNBA more dramatically than we've seen from one NBA deal to the next.
As a result, about three weeks is the fastest the WNBA could realistically hope to go from agreement on a deal to holding practices. Ideally, of course, the league wants progress toward an agreement by early January to avoid delaying the typical offseason schedule too substantially. That's especially important for the Fire and Tempo, who could stand to promote their inaugural season by having actual players on their roster.
Oct. 22 update
How does bargaining work logistically?
When the league and WNBPA hold bargaining sessions, there can be an array of stakeholders in the room, and it's not always the same people each meeting, sources familiar with the negotiations said. WNBA and NBA staff, as well as their outside counsel, represent the league's side of the aisle, with WNBA commissioner Cathy Engelbert attending all substantive bargaining meetings, consistent with previous negotiations in 2019 and with the actions of former league presidents. WNBPA staff and outside counsel are the main participants for the union side, though WNBPA advisors and player leadership might also attend.
The players' CBA committee typically features at least 33 players: the 26 player representatives (two per team), seven members of the executive committee (Nneka Ogwumike, Kelsey Plum, Elizabeth Williams, Brianna Turner, Alysha Clark, Napheesa Collier and Breanna Stewart) and a few other players outside of those groups who have opted to participate.
The league has its own version of that group, the labor relations committee, featuring seven team owners and executives: Suzanne Abair of the Atlanta Dream, Greg Bibb of the Dallas Wings, Ginny Gilder of the Seattle Storm, Kelly Krauskopf of the Indiana Fever, Mat Ishbia of the Phoenix Mercury, Nadia Rawlinson of the Chicago Sky and Jennifer Rizzotti of the Connecticut Sun. That committee does not participate in bargaining sessions.
The league and WNBPA first met in December 2024 for a preliminary conversation on the new CBA and held a larger in-person meeting featuring representatives from the labor relations committee plus over 40 players at All-Star weekend in late July. Since then, the WNBPA has met with player leadership "weekly, if not a couple times a week," according to a source, and the two sides have continued to talk with regularity, though the participants and scope have fluctuated.
