WNBA insider reveals source’s instructions on CBA salary cap ‘deal’ forcing awkward backtrack

Mar 13, 2026 - 18:00

Holly Rowe will want to turn back time.

One of the most well-respected WNBA reporters in the United States, Rowe is very well informed about the league and around women’s basketball, including at the collegiate level.

The WNBA and WNBPA are still in a standoff over a new CBA

But the biggest story right now is that of the WNBA and negotiations over the new collective bargaining agreement (CBA).

With the hard deadline of March 10 to agree to new terms passing – not the first time one had slid by – there is now a serious possibility that the 2026 WNBA season will not get underway on time.

This comes as negotiations still linger on in New York, with the Players’ Association fighting for a pay structure that “financially recognizes players’ contributions to the league.“

But on Thursday evening, Rowe posted to X to give an update, which have been scarce as conversations continue to remain very private.

According to the league insider’s post, the two sides are settling on a salary cap of $6.2 million and an average player salary of $570,000.

The post in full read: “Feels like we are getting closer to a deal … Latest league proposal.

“Just so have on background – no attribution to me or the league.. heere are some updates – WNBA latest proposal includes: a salary cap of $6.2M, up from $1.5M in 2025 – a more than 4x increase.

“An average salary starting at $570K in year one and growing to $850K in year six – a significant bump for middle tier players.

“Max salaries exceeding $1.3M growing to nearly $2M.”

The only issue, though, was that she forgot to delete a key setence before posting which read: “Just so you have on background – no attribution to me or the league…”

Rowe's initial tweet was promptly deleted but not before 42,000 people viewed it — Rowe’s initial tweet was promptly deleted but not before 42,000 people viewed it

WNBA insider Holly Rowe made a social media blunder amid ongoing CBA negotiations — WNBA insider Holly Rowe has taken flak for her mistake

The post was eventually taken down, though not before it had been viewed by tens of thousands of people in the hour is remained visible online.

“Holly Rowe just posted and deleted a WNBA bombshell with source notes still attached…no harm done, but it sure feels like a big new deal is coming. Let’s play ball,” one fan wrote.

Rowe on the end of massive backlash

Although it was clearly an error made on Rowe’s part, she received a huge level of scrutiny in response.

“This was embarrassing and why the WNBA players don’t really trust certain colleagues. I know the WNBPA laughed at Holly Rowe deleting details that were already given and tweeted out by other colleagues already. ” one fan wrote on X.

“The math doesn’t add up. The league is lying and Holly literally just c&p’d what the league told her to say,” a second commented.

Some users, though, argued that this was a deliberate ploy instigated by the WNBA.

Reese, alongside college rival Clark, was named a WNBA All-Star in her debut season — Players including Caitlin Clark and Angel Reese have been warned of a potential lockout

Charles Barkley — Barkley has warned the WNBPA to be careful in negotiations

“I love that Holly Rowe accidentally confirmed the league leaks the details to them to spread so they can rally up the public to call the players greedy and pressure them into accepting pennies. It didn’t work outside of a certain group of people, but yea lol,” one fan speculated.

“They wanted her to post and delete so they could get feed back and show that they have offered more and the players are the ones not in good faith,” another user echoed.

NBA legend fires stark warning

The WNBPA have stood pat on their demands for the most part, something that WNBA legend and NBA on Prime analyst Candace Parker has praised.

However, this is also why they are still at a $2 billion standoff, with the 2026 regular season that features superstars like Caitlin Clark, Angel Reese and A’ja Wilson a little under two months away from being due to commence.

NBA icon Charles Barkley, though, has sent a stark warning to the players, warning them of the possible ramifications of sitting out the season until a new CBA is agreed.

“Ladies, I want you all to get paid, and I wish you the very best, but y’all gotta be very careful,” he said on a recent episode of The Steam Room podcast, via The Mirror U S.

“Y’all get in that room and say, ‘Hey, let’s make the best deal.’ You don’t want a strike. You don’t want a lockout.

“When y’all start bad-mouthing the commissioner, you have to remember one thing. The commissioner works for the owners. You might not get paid what you’re worth, but you can get paid what you can get.”

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