NEW YORK (AP) — The WNBA and its players' union will not agree to another collective bargaining agreement extension after the current deadline passes Friday night, WNBPA vice president Breanna Stewart said.
That does not mean players will strike or the league will lock them out. Stewart told reporters Thursday at an Unrivaled practice that the players would continue to negotiate in good faith.
With the deadline just before midnight Friday night, the league wouldn't confirm that the two sides won't reach an extension. A WNBA spokesman did say the league would “continue to negotiate in good faith with the goal of reaching a deal as quickly as possible.”
“Our focus remains on reaching an agreement that significantly increases player compensation while ensuring the long-term growth of the business,” a league spokesperson said.
The league and the players have had two previous extensions and have met in person several times this week. Any stalled negotiations could delay the start of the 2026 season. The last CBA was announced in the middle of January 2020, a month after it had been agreed to.
It could easily take two months from when a new CBA is reached to get to the start of free agency, which was supposed to begin later this month.
While a strike or lockout isn't imminent, both sides could change their viewpoints.
Stewart said calling a strike is “not something that we’re going to do right this second, but we have that in our back pocket.” The league hasn't been considering a lockout, according to a person familiar with the decision. The person spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity Thursday because of the sensitive nature of the negotiations.
As of Thursday, the sides remained far apart on many key issues, including salary and revenue sharing, and it seems unlikely a deal could have been reached before Friday's deadline.
Revenue sharing a sticking point in talks
The league’s most recent offer last month would guarantee a maximum base salary of $1 million in 2026 that could reach $1.3 million through revenue sharing. That’s up from the current $249,000 and could grow to nearly $2 million over the life of the agreement, a person with knowledge of the negotiations told the AP. The person spoke on condition of anonymity because of the sensitive nature of the negotiations.
Under the league's proposal, players would receive in excess of 70% of net revenue — though that would be their take of the profits after expenses are paid. Those expenses would include staff, travel, security, arenas and charter flights.
The average salary in 2026 would be more than $530,000, up from its current $120,000, and grow to more than $770,000 over the life of the agreement. The minimum salary would grow from its current $67,000 to more than $250,000 in the first year, the person told the AP.
The proposal would also financially pay star young players like Caitlin Clark, Angel Reese and Paige Bueckers, who are all still on their rookie contracts, nearly double the league minimum.
Revenue sharing is one of the major sticking points in the negotiations.
The union's counter proposal to the league would give players around 30% of the gross revenue. The player's percentage would be from money generated before expenses for the first year and teams would have a $10.5 million salary cap to sign players. Under the union's proposal, the revenue sharing percent would go up slightly each year.
Union wants expansion fees included; league saying no
The union feels that the $750 million in expansion fees that the league just received with the addition of Cleveland, Detroit and Philadelphia by 2030 should be considered revenue and included in projections. The league says that the money actually goes to all the current teams that were in place before expansion to make up for the future money they’ll be losing by dividing the total revenue by more franchises.
Other major sports leagues like the NBA, NHL and NFL don't include expansion fees in their revenue-sharing structures. Major League Baseball's salary structure is not tied to its revenue, so expansion fees don't matter.
League wants players to pay for own housing
The league has proposed making players pay for their housing instead of having teams continue to incur the costs. With the potential new minimum salary over $250,000, the WNBA has said that like most every other pro league, players should pay for their own housing.
The union's stance is that teams should continue to pay for players' housing.
Why stalled negotiations could delay the season
An extended delay in getting a deal done could cause a number of problems, specifically getting the season started on time or even played for several reasons. There are several factors that indicate that time is near:
— Free agency
With nearly all the veteran players free agents this offseason, this will be the biggest year in the league's history as far as potential movement. Free agency was supposed to start later this month. However, once a new CBA is reached, it could take both parties two months to get free agency started.
— Revenue-generating events could be delayed
The league can't release a schedule to its teams to sell game tickets until the new CBA is decided. Arenas will be clamoring to fill calendar dates with events. With so many players potentially changing teams as free agents, new merchandise wouldn't be able to be sold.
— Expansion draft
With Portland and Toronto entering the league this year, an expansion draft has to be held for the two new teams. Last year when Golden State came into the WNBA, a draft was held in December. Current teams need to figure out who they will be protecting from being selected in the draft, and that is made more complicated due to all the free agents.
