The WNBA has avoided a potentially devastating work stoppage less than two months before its milestone 30th season, reaching a verbal agreement with the Women’s National Basketball Players Association (WNBPA) on a new collective bargaining agreement.
Following more than 100 hours of intensive, around-the-clock negotiations at The Langham hotel in midtown Manhattan, league officials and player representatives emerged early Wednesday morning to announce the breakthrough.
While specific financial terms remain under wraps pending formal ratification, the deal is expected to radically restructure the league’s economics by tying player compensation directly to the WNBA’s recent explosion in revenue and viewership.
Commissioner Cathy Engelbert, flanked by the union’s executive committee, characterized the moment as a fundamental shift in the professional landscape for women’s basketball.
“The progress made in these discussions marks a transformative step forward for players and the league,” Engelbert told reporters.
The agreement ensures that the 2026 calendar remains intact, with training camps scheduled to open on April 19 and the regular season officially tipping off on May 8.
Revenue sharing and the rise of the million-dollar player
Central to this sixth CBA in league history is a modernized salary system designed to reflect the skyrocketing popularity of the sport.
For the first time, players are anticipated to see their earnings climb in tandem with the league’s financial success, with projections suggesting the era of the $1 million WNBA salary has finally arrived. WNBPA executive director Terri Carmichael Jackson noted that the tenacity of the players during the labor battle was the driving force behind these gains.
“I think this can be summed up in two words: player empowerment … players coming to the table and standing on business and being reminded of the collective voice and of what it means to be in a union and the power of this union,” Jackson said.
The emotional toll and eventual triumph of the bargaining process were evident as the union’s leadership addressed the media. Breanna Stewart, a vice president of the WNBPA, emphasized that the new structure would provide players with the stability and compensation they have long advocated for.
“This deal is going to be transformational,” Stewart said. “It’s going to build and help create a system where everybody is getting exactly what they deserve and more, from on the court and off the court aspects. Just excited that we can tell our fans that we’re going to be back.”
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