WNBA Telling Teams They Can Send Free Agent Offers Amid CBA Uncertainty

MIAMI — When the clock strikes midnight on Friday night, the third deadline in negotiations between the WNBA and WNBPA for a new collective bargaining agreement will have come and gone with no deal. 

The league won’t turn into a pumpkin, but negotiations will enter a period of status quo. That means both sides can continue negotiating while maintaining the conditions of the current CBA. 

Under U.S. labor law, the WNBA has a status quo obligation to allow the sending of qualifying offers under the expired agreement. A moratorium—a legally authorized period of delay—could be agreed to by the union and the league, resulting in the complete pause of all free agency activity until a new CBA is ratified. 

As of Friday night just before midnight, multiple league sources told Front Office Sports a moratorium was under consideration, proposed by the league to the players union an hour before the CBA deadline.

With no moratorium yet in place, WNBA officials spent the past two days calling general managers and executives from every franchise to tell them that the status quo period means they can send out qualifying offers to free agents beginning on Jan. 11, sources told FOS.

The same sources told FOS they viewed going through the motions of free agency without a CBA in place as pointless.

In a statement late Friday night, the union said that the league and owners “have remained committed to undervalued player contributions, dismissing player concerns, and running out the clock.” The WNBPA accused the league of “delaying and clinging to the status quote” which it said was “jeopardizing the livelihoods of players and trust and investment of fans, all in the name of preserving regressive provisions that no longer belong in women’s basketball.”

The league released a much shorter statement after the midnight deadline passed. “As the league experiences a pivotal time of unprecedented popularity and growth, we recognize the importance of building upon that momentum,” the statement read. “Our priority is a deal that significantly increases player salaries, enhances the overall player experience, and supports the long-term growth of the league for current and future generations of players and fans.”

Under the expired CBA, qualifying offers—including core designations which grants teams exclusive negotiating rights to a player under the tag—could be sent out no later than Jan. 20. However, these offers would all be subject to the terms of the previous CBA. 

“Without a real salary cap, no one is going to sign anything,” one source said. 

Both sides technically have until 11:59 p.m. on Friday to either come to an agreement on a new CBA or an extension. On Thursday, WNBPA vice president Breanna Stewart said neither one is going to happen.  

Almost the entire league is set to become unrestricted free agents as a result of players having signed contracts that would expire ahead of 2026, in anticipation that the union would opt out of the previous CBA. Many of these free agents are competing in Unrivaled, which tipped off its second season this week, and expect to sprint through free agency once a new CBA is in place. 

“You won’t be able to go places and visit,” Kahleah Copper said on Friday at opening weekend of Unrivaled. “You’ll have to make a decision like that. For me, I feel like it’ll be rushed. I wouldn’t want to make a rushed decision.” 

“Initially we’re not going to feel it right away,” Los Angeles Sparks forward Dearica Hamby said. “Obviously as it gets closer, I think it just speeds everything up which actually might be more fun. Free agency will move a lot faster, the expansion draft will happen first.” 

The expectation is that free agency could not occur before the expansion draft for the WNBA’s two new teams, the Toronto Tempo and the Portland Fire. The expansion draft for the Golden State Valkyries took place last December, ahead of free agency. Teams were allowed to protect up to six players.