Marathon WNBA labor talks last 16
hours with still no CBA deal
[March 13, 2026]
By DOUG FEINBERG
NEW YORK (AP) — The WNBA and its players’ union met for 16 hours
during a third straight day of negotiations for a new collective
bargaining agreement.
The session that began at 11 a.m. Thursday ended early Friday
morning. The two sides have met for nearly 40 hours since first
getting together in-person Tuesday — the day the league had said
there would need to be at least a handshake agreement for the season
to start on time.
The sides exchanged more proposals Thursday and the main sticking
point remains revenue sharing.
The executive committee players in the bargaining session — Nneka
Ogwumike, Breanna Stewart, Alysha Clark and Brianna Turner — all
left around midnight, while union leadership including executive
director Terri Carmichael Jackson remained to continue discussions.
They left just after 3 a.m. and will continue meeting later Friday.
Neither side talked to reporters after the marathon session.
WNBA Commissioner Cathy Engelbert said Wednesday that the last
proposal from that night was a “real historic and transformational
deal” for the players.
“Huge gains and salaries, benefits, everything you’re seeing, but
beyond that when you see the whole thing, huge, huge benefits," she
said. "We’re proud of the deal we have on the table. I think it’s,
again, huge gains for the players, while again, balancing that with
the health of the league.”
The proposal Wednesday night from the league increased its salary
cap offer for the first year to $6.2 million — up from $5.75 million
in previous negotiations, a person familiar with the talks told The
Associated Press. The person spoke on condition of anonymity because
of the sensitive nature of the discussions.
Last year, the salary cap for each team was $1.5 million. Average
player salaries were $120,000, and that figure stands to increase to
$570,000 in the first year and $850,000 by the sixth year, according
to the person. The maximum salary in the first year would be more
than $1.3 million and nearly $2 million by the final year.
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The league had said that at least a handshake
agreement on a labor deal would need to be done by Tuesday to start
the season as scheduled. Ogwumike said Wednesday night the union
never saw the deadline from two days ago as a real thing.
“We haven’t ever really considered that as a timeline that’s been
something to prioritize on our side, because we have always been
negotiating in good faith,” she said.
When a deal is reached in principle, the league has said it would
need a few weeks to finish off the CBA. After that work is done, the
expansion draft for new franchises in Portland and Toronto would be
held sometime between April 1-6, according to a timetable obtained
by the AP.
Free agent qualifying offers, including franchise player tags, would
be sent out April 7-8. Teams would then have three days to negotiate
with the more than 80% of players who are free agents. The signing
period would take place from April 12-18.
Training camps would open the next day and the season would be able
to start on May 8.
But for any of that to happen, the two sides have to figure out a
revenue sharing model. The union’s proposal from a week ago had
asked for an average of 26% of the gross revenue — revenue before
expenses — over the course of the CBA. That would include only 25%
in the first year. The league has said that number was unrealistic.
The WNBA’s last few proposals have offered more than 70% of net
revenue, with that number going up as the league continues to grow.
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