Why WNBA free agency can’t progress right now

The WNBA and the WNBPA (the players’ union) are currently trying to come to terms on a new Collective Bargaining Agreement. With their previous CBA now expired as of Jan. 9, we are in a new phase of negotiations. Gone are the extension periods, and now we are in what’s called “status quo.” Basically… nothing has changed. The only thing that is different now than it was last week is that either side can decide to enter into a work stoppage now, if they so choose.

As we discussed last weekend, it would be way more likely for the players to strike than it would be for the WNBA to hold a lockout. There isn’t much point to locking out the players, and it would probably just make things worse. There haven’t been any reports about the players seriously considering a strike yet, so now we just wait… for how long, no one knows.

If we were operating under business as usual, WNBA free agency would have started this past Sunday. It was the original date that teams were able to start sending out qualifying offers to free agents. This could have still happened without a new CBA agreed upon, but it was unlikely any players would have engaged with those offers, much less signed anything. While the league had informed teams that this was coming up, per protocol, there was also talk of a moratorium on free agency as Friday’s expiration date came and went.

By the end of the weekend, it seems like the sides had agreed to this moratorium. This means all free agency has been halted until a deal is reached.

It makes sense, given that a lot of the transactions that would be happening right now would be between teams and restricted free agents, and the players are trying to eliminate team-controlled negotiations in the new CBA. Right now, teams have the power to “core” players, hold onto their negotiation rights, and have more control over these players. The players themselves would like more free agency freedom in their next deal.

It’s not unprecedented, either. The NWSL’s new CBA went so far as to eliminate the draft, and eligible players just jump right into free agency. Players want more autonomy on where they play.

Now, all of this considered, the time it’s taking to come to terms on a new WNBA CBA is going to start having effects on the WNBA season. The league definitely cannot proceed with free agency without a new deal, so the moratorium is the right way to go, but that doesn’t mean this is making things easier. We are looking at having an extremely condensed WNBA offseason in which we will need to fit in an expansion draft, 80% of the league negotiating as free agents, and a WNBA draft — not to mention a possible sooner start to training camp and the fact that many players will be participating in FIBA World Cup Qualifying tournaments in mid-March.

Funny enough, we are also about to hit another milestone — the previous WNBA CBA was agreed to on Jan. 14, 2020. Which means we are about to head into uncharted waters as far as how long it’s taking the sides to agree on a new deal. Now, as we know, 2020 ended up taking a turn, and the WNBA season didn’t happen until later in the summer due to the pandemic, so it didn’t matter too much that it took until Jan. 14 to come to terms. This year, though, it will matter.

Any of the items on our offseason to-do list would be unprecedented on their own, and even if they occurred on time. A two-team expansion draft between Toronto and Portland, a huge free agency market, and a 15-team WNBA Draft with a huge market of extreme talent. Shoving that all into a tiny time frame will be… chaotic.