WNBA, players’ union to meet Tuesday as CBA deadline nears to start season on time: report
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The WNBA and the players’ union are expected to meet Tuesday to continue negotiations to reach a new collective bargaining agreement as the deadline for the start of the season nears, a person familiar with the talks told The Associated Press.
This person spoke on condition of anonymity because of the seriousness of the discussions.
The meeting comes on a day the league said at least a handshake agreement would have to be reached on a new collective bargaining agreement to start the season as planned.
The two sides exchanged proposals over the weekend and the league sent one on Saturday, the person said. It is not known what changes have been made by the department and the union in their latest proposal. Profit sharing is the key to sticking between the parties.
Time is running out. The department said it would need an agreement on Tuesday to be able to sign by the end of the month. Under that timeline, the draft expansion of the new franchises in Portland and Toronto will be held between April 1-6, according to a timeline obtained by the AP.
A free agent giveaway, including franchise player tags, will be posted April 7-8. Teams will have three days to negotiate with more than 80 percent of the players who are free agents. The signing period will take place April 12-18.
Training camps will open the next day and the season could begin on May 8.
After the WNBA and the players’ union failed to agree on a new CBA by their Jan. 9, the announcement was made in free agency. Less than four months from the start of the 2026 season, could a lockout be imminent?
But for any of this to happen, both sides have to find a profit-sharing model. The union’s previous proposal last week called for an average of 26 percent of total revenue, revenue before expenses, during the CBA. That would include only 25 percent in the first year of the new deal. The department said that this figure was not available.
The last few WNBA franchises have provided more than 70 percent of the revenue, and that number is rising as the league continues to grow.
The meeting comes three days after Caitlin Clark said at USA Basketball’s training camp that the two sides should stop sending proposals and instead meet face-to-face until an agreement is reached.
“I don’t understand why we can just go into the house and iron and shake hands,” she said. “That’s how business is. You look each other in the eye, shake hands, respect both sides. For me, that’s what I’d like to see.”
Union vice president Breanna Stewart agreed with Clark’s sentiment.
“I think it would be good for all of us to stay in the room until we do it,” the New York Liberty star said. “If that means sitting there for hours and hours at a time, let’s do it. That’s for the better of the player. Even though a situation like this has never happened before, there’s a start time for everything.”
