What's Next for the WNBA

Morning Edition

March 19, 2026

The WNBA and its players have a tentative CBA deal in place. So what’s next? It now heads to a vote, as new details emerge on salaries, cap structure, and how the deal is structured.

—Annie Costabile

First Up

The Mets are rolling into 2026 with a $370M payroll and big expectations as they try to keep pace with the Dodgers. Read the story.
Sacramento Kings co-owner Lisa Bhathal Merage is betting big on women’s sports in Portland with two teams. Read the story.
Fox Corp. and Kalshi are nearing a deal that would expand prediction markets into Fox News. Read the story.
World Cup host cities will receive $625 million in security funding after months of delays. Read the story.

Inside WNBA’s Tentative CBA Deal: $7M Cap and Path to Ratification

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The WNBA and WNBPA reached a verbal agreement on a new collective bargaining agreement in the early hours on Wednesday, with less than two months to spare before the season tips off on May 8.

While both sides are still formalizing a term sheet, multiple sources told Front Office Sports it is a seven-year deal with an opt-out after the sixth year. The salary cap will start at $7 million in Year 1, according to these same sources, with 20% of the cap designated for the supermax contract, which equates to roughly $1.4 million. The average, before revenue-share payments are factored in, will be about $584,000. The average revenue share is roughly 20% across the life of the deal, sources said.

Additionally, the core designation will see slight changes. Beginning in 2027, a player can only be cored who has six or fewer years of service, according to sources.

Next Steps

The full terms of the deal are expected to be finalized in the coming days, which will be followed by an official voting process. The term sheet will be voted on by players and then the WNBA Board of Governors before it becomes fully ratified. Once both sides sign off, the term sheet is formally executed, becoming the new CBA governing the league.

“The progress made in these discussions marks a transformative step forward for players and the league,” commissioner Cathy Engelbert said from the Langham Hotel shortly before 3 a.m. ET. “It’s underscoring a shared commitment to the continued growth of the game.”

Engelbert said the 30th season is not subject to delays following Wednesday’s verbal agreement. Training camp is scheduled to open on April 19, but before it can, the league must conduct an expansion draft, free agency, and the collegiate draft.

The league is expected to move forward with the timeline that was previously shared with WNBA general managers. Between April 1 and April 6, teams will go through the entire expansion draft process, including submitting protected player lists and the draft itself. Qualifying offers will go out April 7–8, followed by a negotiating period April 9–11. The signing period will be April 12–18. The collegiate draft will be held on April 13 in New York City.

Marathon Talks Conclude

In total, both sides negotiated for more than 100 hours between March 10 and March 18 to come to terms. The official negotiating period was much longer, beginning in the months following the WNBPA’s decision to opt out of the last CBA in October 2024.

This new deal, once ratified, guarantees labor peace for the league and players through the 2031 season.

“What we just accomplished is going to change the lives of so many players,” Alysha Clark said from the Langham Hotel following the verbal agreement. “Speaking from experience, players like me are going to be the ones that feel it the most. That’s what I think we’re all super proud of because that’s what we set out from the beginning was making sure every player felt the change in this CBA.”

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FOS NEWS

Inside WNBA’s Marathon Talks

FOS graphic

Front Office Sports reporter Annie Costabile takes you inside the final hours of the WNBA’s marathon CBA negotiations—after more than 100 hours of talks that stretched late into the night. From the tense back-and-forth to the 3 a.m. champagne toast, she walks through how the breakthrough finally came together.

The tentative deal includes a $7 million salary cap, seven-figure supermax salaries, and major gains in pay and benefits—but it still needs to be ratified by both players and team owners. Costabile also explains what happens next and why the vote is the final step before it becomes official. Watch the full video.

ONE BIG FIG

Global Golf Push

Matthew Harris-LIV Golf

90,000

That’s about how many tickets LIV Golf has sold for its first tournament in South Africa—making it one of the biggest crowds the league has seen since it launched in 2022. The four-day event is happening just outside Johannesburg, one of the largest metro areas on the continent.

It’s also LIV’s first event in Africa, meaning the tour has now played on six continents as it continues to expand around the world. And it comes after strong turnouts in places like Australia, where LIV has drawn some of its biggest crowds yet. Read the story.

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LOUD AND CLEAR

Fakes Won’t Fly

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“They’ll be blackballed.”

—Dan Cornely, assistant director for the MBA in sport management program at Florida Atlantic, on athletes using AI to doctor recruiting highlight reels.

AI tools are making it easier than ever for high school athletes to polish their recruiting highlight reels—and in some cases, push them way too far. But coaches are catching on, and some say they can spot the fakes pretty quickly, whether it’s strange body movements or glitches that don’t match real game action.

But the bigger issue isn’t just getting caught—it’s what happens when athletes do. Coaches and scouts talk, and once a player’s credibility takes a hit, that reputation can follow them and shut down opportunities in a big way. Read the story.