Simply minutes earlier than the present collective bargaining settlement was set to run out, the WNBA and the Ladies’s Nationwide Basketball Gamers Affiliation agreed to a 40-day extension, the league introduced Sunday night time. The brand new expiration date for the present CBA is Friday, Jan. 9, 2026. Both celebration can terminate the extension at any level with a 48-hour discover.
That is the second time that the present CBA has been prolonged. It was initially set to run out on Oct. 31, however days earlier than that deadline the 2 sides agreed to a 30-day extension that pushed the expiration date again to Nov. 30. There was little motion — no less than publicly — during the last 30 days, and it appeared as if the 2 sides could also be heading for a establishment interval till their last-minute extension late on Sunday night time.
Extensions usually are not a brand new phenomenon in CBA negotiations. Actually, the 2 sides wanted a 60-day extension to return to phrases on the present CBA, which was not ratified till January of 2020. It seems as if the continuing negotiations might comply with the same timeline.
WNBA’s most up-to-date supply did not transfer the needle
In November, the WNBA made a brand new supply to the gamers that included substantial wage will increase, together with a brand new minimal wage (greater than $220,000) that will be greater than the 2025 common max wage ($214,466), in keeping with the Related Press. Nevertheless, the gamers didn’t imagine that supply moved negotiations ahead, per ESPN.
WNBA CBA negotiations: League’s newest supply would increase minimal wage above 2025 most, per report
Jack Maloney
Whereas the gamers need extra money, a brand new revenue-sharing mannequin is their prime precedence, not simply greater salaries.
“If me and you are not set on going to the right restaurant, who cares what we’re ordering as an appetizer?” WNBPA first vice chairman Kelsey Plum mentioned earlier this yr. “First, second, third is rev share [and] wage. So after I say that we proceed to suggest and the counter proposals which can be coming again are additional away from the place we thought we might be, that to me is — and I believe lots of the gamers are in settlement as a union — that is actually the meat and potatoes.”
Underneath the present CBA, nonetheless, the wage cap — and thus, participant salaries — will increase at a set fee of three% per yr. The gamers are pushing for a brand new mannequin the place salaries develop with the enterprise.
At the moment, gamers reportedly solely obtain about 9% of all income, a far cry from the 49-51% of basketball-related revenue that NBA gamers obtain. Whereas the present CBA does have a clause to set off income sharing if the WNBA hits sure benchmarks, they’ve by no means been met, largely as a result of COVID-19 pandemic.
Whereas the WNBA’s newest supply reportedly included a income sharing element, ESPN’s report indicated that the gamers had been nonetheless not happy with how the wage cap, and thus participant salaries, would develop.
What occurs subsequent?
There are 4 paths ahead from right here. Let’s shortly run by means of them:
1. A brand new CBA
The best consequence can be a brand new CBA. The earlier the 2 events can come to phrases on a brand new CBA, the earlier the offseason can start. Whereas the draft lottery was lastly held late final month — the Dallas Wings gained the No. 1 decide for the second yr in a row — not one of the different main offseason actions can happen till a brand new CBA is ratified.
A brand new CBA by Jan. 9 would additionally be certain that the 2026 season can begin on time, which is extraordinarily necessary for the continued development of the league.
2. One other extension to the present CBA
If, for some purpose, the 2 sides nonetheless can not conform to a deal by Jan. 9, they might negotiate one other extension. Whereas that will not be splendid, it could be higher than the chance of a piece stoppage.
3. A establishment interval
If Jan. 9 passes with out a new CBA or one other extension, there wouldn’t mechanically be a piece stoppage. As a substitute, the 2 sides would enter a establishment interval, which seems to be the more than likely subsequent step.
Per the Cornell Regulation Evaluate: “Courts developed the ‘establishment’ doctrine from the Katz prohibition of unilateral modifications. This doctrine requires employers ‘to take care of, throughout ther interval of negotiations, the established order regarding circumstances of employment so as to keep away from committing [a violation of the duty to bargain in good faith].'”
The important thing distinction between establishment and an extension is that both facet might announce a piece stoppage at any level throughout establishment, whereas an extension would lock within the present CBA till a set date (or till a brand new CBA is agreed upon).
4. A piece stoppage
At any level throughout a establishment interval, both facet might enact a piece stoppage. That will more than likely come by way of the homeowners locking out the gamers, although the gamers might additionally go on strike.
Within the occasion of a lockout, all league enterprise would stop and gamers can be prevented from accessing crew amenities. That will imply no enlargement draft, no free company, no trades, no 2026 WNBA Draft, nothing till a brand new CBA is in place. Relying on how lengthy the lockout lasted, it is potential that the 2026 season could possibly be delayed or, in a worst-case state of affairs, cancelled.
The WNBA has by no means misplaced video games as a consequence of a piece stoppage.
