The WNBA’s rising momentum could come to a halt as players and owners argue over a new CBA just months before the 2026 season. The Collective Bargaining Agreement is the foundation for league stability in professional sports. Setting agreed-upon rules between team owners and player unions prevents strikes, ensures competitive fairness, arbitrates salaries, and protects player rights.
Sixteen months ago, Women’s National Basketball Association players “opted out” of the current CBA, causing negotiations for the terms of a new one to start. Now, as the 2026 season approaches and the old CBA expires, the CBA debates have intensified, causing fans to wonder if they will get a WNBA season at all.
Following the breakout 2024 season, the Women’s National Basketball Players Association, a labor union representing WNBA players, announced that the players would be opting out of the current collective bargaining agreement, one that was set in 2020 and was supposed to last eight years. The deal officially expired on Jan. 9, 2026, with negotiations for a deal still ongoing. The primary issue between the league and players is money. Both sides agree that a major change in salary needs to happen, but what is the magic number?
The second major point of contention is housing. Currently, the WNBA provides team housing for all players or a monthly stipend ranging from $1,177 to $2,647 based on the cost of rent in the city if they opt out of team housing. One unnamed player told ESPN that housing was a “top five priority” for players during this negotiation. She commented, “I shouldn’t be stressed about where I’m going to live when my job is to play basketball.” This is a particularly significant concern for younger players with smaller contracts and those with unprotected contracts. The WNBA can only protect six contracts, leaving five to six players with unprotected contracts every season. In these situations, players move to a team’s city and can be cut, not receiving their entire contract salary. This will save players from having to navigate short-term rentals, leases, and mortgages.
While the WNBPA views team-provided housing as “essential,” the league wants to get rid of it in the new CBA. The WNBPA has proposed including the cost of housing in player benefits, which would be deducted from the player’s share of revenue. If the league gets rid of housing, there is an expectation that teams will still assist players on seven-day contracts, midseason trades, and during training camp.
The two sides met at the league’s New York City offices on Feb. 2, 2026. The WNBPA board and various league members, including team owner and former Seattle Storm player Sue Bird, New York Liberty owner Clara Wu Tsai, and league commissioner Cathy Engelbert, were at the meeting.
President of the WNBPA and Seattle Storm player Nneka Ogwumike expressed her frustration with the league to Front Office Sports because the league declined to present a counterproposal following their meeting, setting an early tone.
On the flip side, there were reports that the two sides have reached agreements on issues involving maternity leave, charter travel, and childcare, leaving hope that they will be able to work out their money disputes soon.
The Next Hoops reported that in December, the WNBPA held a vote, where 93% of eligible players participated and 98% voted in favor of a strike if deemed necessary. This will give the WNBPA the power to call a strike without a full membership vote, only requiring the executive committee and the players’ association’s advisors.
The two sides are not aligned on these issues, both refusing to budge on revenue sharing as the season draws closer.
Outside of rookie contracts, there are only two players under guaranteed contracts, while every other member of the league is a free agent. Within the next three months, there needs to be offseason movements, which are a chance for free agents to sign with teams, teams to trade current players, an expansion draft for the two new teams, and a draft for the class of 2026. None of this movement can happen without a CBA. As the start of the season draws closer, the WNBA is running out of time to complete offseason movement. Without time to do so, they will have to delay the start of the season, causing a stop in the growing momentum of the league, an outcome neither side wants.
