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The WNBA wants everyone to believe the 2026 season will tip off May 8.
It asserted as much with an announcement of a 44-game slate and a statement that explained in part the move was to allow “essential planning to begin.”
The reality of where collective bargaining agreement negotiations stand paints a different picture.
As of Friday, the players’ union was still waiting on a response from the league to a proposal it sent nearly a month ago, multiple sources told Front Office Sports. In that proposal the union is seeking a 30% share of the league’s gross revenue and a salary cap of $10.5 million. The league’s last proposal includes a max base salary of $1 million, which would increase to more than $1.3 million with revenue share. The league is proposing sharing roughly 70% of its net revenue over the span of the deal. The salary cap would be at $5 million in Year 1 and would grow in tandem with the league’s revenue.
The supermax salary in 2025 was $249,244, and the league minimum was $66,079. The salary cap for each team was $1.5 million.
The WNBPA did not comment on the league’s schedule release, but multiple players shared their thoughts on social media. Four-time MVP A’ja Wilson posted a clip of the show Reasonable Doubt to Threads.
“Somebody better start talking right now, before I start screaming.”
Wilson’s Las Vegas Aces are currently scheduled to start the 2026 season at home with a Finals rematch against the Phoenix Mercury on May 9 before embarking on a four-game road trip. Their first back-to-back of the season is opening weekend when they play the Los Angeles Sparks on May 10. Sparks forward Azurá Stevens left a series of question marks under an Instagram post from Just Women’s Sports about the schedule announcement while CBA negotiations are ongoing.
The second extension of the original Oct. 31 CBA deadline passed on Jan. 9 with no deal reached and no agreement to a third extension. That moved negotiations into a period of status quo, meaning discussions can continue under the operational standards of the previous CBA—aside from free agency, which was paused after both sides agreed to a moratorium.
Beyond legitimate speculation about the league’s ability to start a season in May were questions about the 44-game slate. A longer season has been on the table over the course of CBA negotiations, but under the 2020 CBA—which the league is operating under while in status quo—the regular season cannot exceed 44 games. There is an understanding that any potential increases to the WNBA’s competition window would occur after the 2026 season due in part to this fall’s FIBA World Cup. The WNBA will pause the 2026 schedule on Aug. 31 and resume Sept. 17; the World Cup is scheduled for Sept. 4–13 in Berlin.
Before the 2026 season can begin, the league must conduct an expansion draft and free agency, both of which hinge upon a deal being reached for a new CBA.
General managers are still in the dark regarding rules for the two-team expansion draft for the Toronto Tempo and the Portland Fire, including whether there will be a window for pre-expansion transactions. Additionally, the core designation—similar to the NFL franchise tag—is being discussed in negotiations that could significantly impact the expansion draft. For example, the 2024 expansion draft for the Golden State Valkyries allowed them to select one unrestricted free agent, but only if they had not already been signed under the core tag for two or more years.
The union proposed eliminating the designation altogether, but the league has been unresponsive to that suggestion.
Multiple league sources believe the best-case scenario for free agency would be early March, and that’s if the ink dries on a new CBA by early February giving the WNBA the rest of the month to plan and conduct an expansion draft. In a typical year, free agency begins in early January and all major signings are commonly wrapped up by early February. Applying this same timeline to the current state of affairs would mean that an early March start date for free agency would give teams enough of a runway to construct rosters by the start of training camp on April 19. However, in the middle of free agency, front offices will also be preparing for the 2026 WNBA draft, currently scheduled for April 13.
Both sides have emphasized a commitment to the league’s 30th season being played. Sources familiar with the mentality of owners have repeated that they have no interest in invoking a lockout. The union voted to authorize a strike in December but has previously said it was a measure of preparedness and not an indication of if or when they would strike.
The league has never lost games to a work stoppage in its 29-year history. The next two weeks will be an indicator of whether its 30th season will be the first time it does.
