MIAMI — Negotiations between the WNBA and players over a new collective bargaining agreement have reached the 11th hour.
The league imposed a March 10th target date during a bargaining session on Feb. 23. If the deadline passes without a deal, the league says its 30th season—slated to tipoff May 8—is at risk of being delayed. Both sides have traded proposals back and forth, with neither making notable economic concessions in recent days. The players submitted their latest counter to the league Friday night, a source familiar with negotiations told Front Office Sports.
Progress is being made by inches, instead of the yards required to get a deal done without risking the season. At USA Basketball training camp Saturday, one potentially high-impact tactic for finalizing a deal was floated by two prominent players.
“I don’t understand why we don’t just get in a room and iron it out and shake hands,” Fever guard Caitlin Clark said. “That’s how business is. You look each other in the eye, you shake hands, you respect both sides. For me, that’s what I would love to see.”
WNBPA vice president Breanna Stewart agrees.
“I think that would be great for us all to sit in a room until we really get it done,” Stewart said. “If that means sitting in there for hours and hours at a time, let’s do it. That’s for the better of the player. While a situation like that has never happened before, there’s a first time for everything.”
Stewart won’t be joining the national team in Puerto Rico for the FIBA Women’s World Cup Qualifying Tournament, which starts next Wednesday. Instead, she’ll head back to New York for a brief break in competition before she heads to Turkey to compete with Fenerbahçe for the EuroLeague Women Final Six in April.
The break means she’s available for an in-person bargaining session.
“We want the deal to be done,” Stewart said. “We want to have the season. We just need to find the right numbers that reflect it.”
Clark, Angel Reese, Kiki Iriafen, and Paige Bueckers will all be making their senior national team competitive debut in Puerto Rico.
All four of them can be characterized as the future of U.S. women’s basketball—and the WNBA, despite their relative lack of experience. Their star status as young players means a level of responsibility as negotiations between the WNBA and WNBPA continue.
“Everybody’s voice is really important,” Reese said Saturday. “I’m in this because everybody matters and is a part of the negotiation.”
“I understand what us players are fighting for and I’m with the majority of the players,” Bueckers said. “I’m still learning, still continuing to find confidence to use my voice, but I feel very comfortable in stepping up and being able to speak up and stand up for what we believe in.”
The national team’s 30-minute bus ride from their hotel to the Miami Heat’s practice facility where camp was held on Saturday gave way to CBA discussions among a group of players. Clark said the conversations get “heavy at times” but it’s important that they remain confident.
The timeline the WNBA has to execute an expansion draft, free agency, a collegiate draft, and training camp is shrinking with each passing day. Despite that, Clark said she’s preparing like the season will start on May 8th as scheduled.
Stewart was less convinced.
“I think it’ll be tight,” Stewart said. “Hopefully we do come to a resolution sooner rather than later. But even if we do, it’s like these other things that need to happen need a moment. You shouldn’t have to rush the expansion draft or free agency for the 100 and however many free agents. So, on time? I think it will be a little tough. But I don’t know.”
