The WNBA’s revolutionary CBA changes the game for women’s sports

It took a year of negotiations, two deadline extensions, and an eight-night-long negotiation marathon that logged over 100 hours of discussions. Finally, a deal: in the early hours of Wednesday, the WNBA and its players’ union, the WNBPA, announced that they had come to terms on an agreement for a new collective bargaining agreement. In other words, the WNBA would indeed be moving forward with its 30th season this summer.

There was concern about the idea of extensive negotiations this offseason from the second the Las Vegas Aces lifted the 2025 WNBA Championship. The expiration of the former CBA came at a very intense time in WNBA history — not only has the league seen monumental growth in viewership, attendance, and overall interest, but two new expansion teams are on their way into the league. The players knew how much leverage they had on their side, as the WNBA has become a hot commodity in recent years. They were confident they deserved a significant pay raise, along with other key benefits. The WNBA, on the other hand, stressed the importance of the new deal being one that would preserve the financial health of the league. They were pretty far apart on their visions of what a new CBA would look like. There was a lot at risk — the idea that negotiations could turn sour and lead to a strike or work stoppage was ever-present.

From 12 teams just two years ago to the 15 that will exist in the 2026 season, the WNBA’s momentum was just too great to think about potentially missing an entire season.

As the previous CBA expired in early January, there was a stall in negotiations. At one point, there was a six-week lapse in communications between the WNBA and the WNBPA, resulting in an in-person meeting. A few weeks later, the WNBA stated that negotiations would need to conclude before March 10 to avoid season delays. As the second week of March approached, there was a palpable anxiety around the WNBA community about the idea of not getting a deal done on time.

On March 9, the WNBA and PA began daily 12+ hour negotiation sessions, first hammering out details on smaller points before moving on to revenue share and salary as the weekend approached. With the March 10 deadline passed, the league’s Commissioner Cathy Engelbert expressed the need to get a deal done by Monday March 16. Still, the players held strong, and two days after that last deadline, they approached an agreement.

There is not much out about the new CBA yet, but ESPN reporting suggests that the WNBA team salary cap will rise from $1.5 million in 2025 to $7 million in this new deal. The average salary among players will rise from $120,000 in the previous deal to $600,000 in this new deal. The WNBA’s new supermax individual salary will be $1.4 million in 2026, up from $249,244 in 2025. ESPN also reported that the players will now receive about 20 percent of gross revenue share throughout the length of the new CBA, a huge improvement from their last deal. Other than that, a lot of other details about the new CBA are expected to be released in the coming days and weeks.

The collective relief of the WNBA community could be felt on Wednesday morning, with confirmation that the season will progress as planned. Despite the passed deadlines, the previously released WNBA schedule for the 2026 season will not be affected. The season will start on May 8, with a condensed offseason scheduled to kick off on April 1, after the new CBA term sheet is voted on and signed.

The relief of the season happening is one thing, but the overall relief that these players are finally going to be treated like true professional athletes is even more exciting to feel. To go along with a giant salary raise, the other points in this CBA are going to be just as revolutionary. Retirement benefits for players (past and present), health benefits, family benefits, and increased team standards for things like practice facilities and team staff were all of importance in this negotiation.

Up until last season, there weren’t even terms in the CBA that required WNBA teams to have things like team physical therapists or medical staff. This CBA is about to change the everyday life of these players, and hopefully, in turn, ensure a better experience for all of them.

The leadership that these players exemplified in their fight for a revolutionary contract will have a longstanding effect on the WNBA, and on women’s sports as a whole. Their resilience and hard work will be remembered in a time when women are still not being taken seriously in sports and in business. It would have been easy to fold in the wake of the public narrative that they “had no idea what they were asking for” or “didn’t deserve a pay raise” — but they didn’t. These women are not just athletes; they are educated, accomplished women who know better than anyone what it is like to be overlooked in their workplace.

In the WNBA, there is no time for the ‘shut up and dribble’ narrative — these women have always been game changers and culture shifters. It is because they are on the front lines of social change that they have been able to progress the archaic views on women’s sports that existed even just 5 years ago. This is why, along with the relief and excitement at the idea of the 2026 season happening, there is also an immeasurable level of pride for the women who negotiated this new CBA.

After months of no WNBA news other than passing proposals back and forth, we can now move forward. The projected timeline of the WNBA offseason is a tight one. The expansion draft process between Toronto and Portland will take place between April 1-6, followed immediately by qualifying offers being sent out from April 7-8. Teams can negotiate between April 9-11, and signings will happen between April 12-18. The WNBA entry draft will be held on April 13, eight days after Women’s March Madness wraps up on April 5. Training camps for all WNBA teams will start on April 19, preseason games start on April 25, and the regular season tips off on May 8.

With a new deal agreed to, the WNBA community can now shift focus to celebrating the league’s 30th season. What better way to exemplify the growth and progress of the WNBA than by celebrating its 30th anniversary during the first season under this historic CBA?