The 2025 season is in the books. A new champion has been crowned. But as the offseason starts, the focus shifts squarely back on collective bargaining negotiations.
The current collective bargaining agreement expires on Oct. 31. Both commissioner Cathy Engelbert and the WNBA Players Association (WNBPA) have said their goal is a “transformational” CBA, but the two sides reportedly remain far apart in negotiations on the biggest issues.
What are those priorities? What happens if a new CBA isn’t reached by the deadline? How realistic is a lockout? Here’s a run through everything to know.
What are the players’ biggest priorities?
Increased player salaries is a key issue, but the most important is revenue sharing: how it’s determined and whether the percentage will be allowed to grow during the course of the CBA instead of a fixed number for the duration of the deal.
“The players are still adamant that we get a percentage of revenue that grows with the business, which perhaps includes team revenue, and that’s just a part of the conversation,” WNBPA president Nneka Ogwumike told ESPN in early August.
Phoenix Mercury forward Satou Sabally said a recent proposal from the WNBA makes the players feel as if “we’re not part of the growth of the league.”
“If we continued with this CBA, we would, percentage-wise, go down on our [compensation],” Sabally said last week during the WNBA Finals.
In the NBA, fans are used to salary caps for teams being set based on a percentage of what the CBA describes as “basketball-related income,” or BRI. By contrast, the WNBA’s current CBA defined the cap for each season ahead of time with modest 3% annual raises. A mechanism in the CBA that would increase the cap based on revenue was effectively invalidated by the timing of the deal.
Because the current CBA began in 2020 prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, revenue targets were set based on the previous campaign (2019) and made cumulative over the life of the deal. The league made no money off ticket sales during the abbreviated 2020 season, played in a bubble on the IMG Academy campus in Bradenton, Florida, and attendance was also limited in 2021 by local restrictions. That made it unrealistic for the targets to be met despite the league’s increased attendance over the past two seasons.
In August, Ogwumike said an offer from the WNBA dramatically increased the salary cap and maximum base salaries — the supermax is $249,244 — but followed the same model as the current CBA.
“It’s basically the same system that we exist in right now,” Ogwumike said. “They’re proposing a system that includes revenue that would grow with the business. When you approach it from the perspective of their response to our proposal, yes, money is more, but ultimately if you look at the growth of the business, the money relative to the percentage of everything is virtually staying the same.”
A report Friday from Front Office Sports cited sources estimating a supermax salary around $850,000, with the veteran minimum around $300,000.
“There’s a potential lockout. I promise you we aren’t going to play until they give us what we deserve.”
Indiana Fever guard Sophie Cunningham
The players see the astonishing leap in franchise valuations in the past couple of years and question if they are getting their proper share of that growth. The Las Vegas Aces, for example, were purchased for $2 million in 2021 but are now valued at $310 million, and the New York Liberty were purchased for between $10 million and $14 million after being for sale for more than a year and now have an estimated valuation of around $450 million.
On its face, that’s a reasonable thing to ask. But what about the NBA’s claims for years of subsidizing WNBA losses? Will the NBA say the new money is in part backfilling past deficits? Could it prove that?
One of the most difficult parts of following the WNBA’s labor negotiations all these years has been getting firm numbers from the league’s side of things. The players have said they don’t always feel like they get that. By the same token, the side we do hear much more from — during every CBA — is the players and their union. There has been dramatic change in the WNBA — and what that indicates for the future — in a short period of time after many years that seemed stagnant.
The popularity of 2024 No. 1 draft pick Caitlin Clark has been an enormous boost for a league that had clearly started to turn the corner toward real growth over the past five years. If that growth continues as expected, it’s understandable the players are concerned about how their part of the pie grows, too.
“We’re seeing expansion, and the players are just saying, ‘Hey, let us have our fair share of that,'” Ogwumike said. “Sometimes that means proposing something new that makes sense for the time. Not really new — new to us, not to other leagues.”
Prioritization is another issue that the players agreed to in the 2020 deal that they are expected to push back on more in these negotiations. Since the WNBA’s launch, players have been allowed to play in other leagues — mostly overseas — even if that meant missing training camp or a few early-season WNBA games. New rules were put in place in the last CBA that required players to prioritize the WNBA. While there are built-in exceptions for younger players and time spent with players’ national teams, prioritization has kept some players out of the WNBA for an entire season.
Sabally said that players are in so many different situations based on where they are in their careers, how much money they make and if they are returning from injuries that she doesn’t think it is beneficial to put restrictions on them playing in other leagues. But it seems unlikely the WNBA owners will completely back away from prioritization.
Sabally also said she has talked with athletes in other basketball leagues, in other sports and in other countries about their own labor negotiations.
“It’s interesting to hear about the flow of negotiations,” she said. “Sometimes you want results right away, but it does take time for both parties to come to the table and really agree on certain things.”
What impact does the WNBA’s broadcast rights deal have on negotiations?
Last year, the league announced an 11-year deal — which begins in 2026 — with Disney, Amazon Prime Video and new rights holder NBCUniversal. The deal is valued at about $2.2 billion, a source told ESPN, but future agreements with additional partners could bring the league’s overall media deals closer to $3 billion. According to sources, the agreement can be revisited after three years.
The players see that money, along with the greatly increased expansion fees, and want to make sure they are getting what they think is a fair cut of it. Under the deal, Disney (using ABC and the ESPN networks) will telecast eight semifinals series and five Finals, while Prime and NBCU each will show seven semifinals and three Finals.
How might the recent criticism of Engelbert impact negotiations?
Engelbert was loudly booed by fans Friday in Phoenix when she presented the championship trophy to the Aces and the WNBA Finals MVP award to A’ja Wilson. Commissioners hearing fans’ wrath in these situations is not new in pro sports — the NHL’s Gary Bettman and MLB’s Rob Manfred have experienced the same treatment as recent examples — but it has raised the issue of how the fractured relationship between Engelbert and the players will affect CBA negotiations.
During a four-minute statement to open her exit interview on Sept. 30, Minnesota Lynx star Napheesa Collier said the WNBA had the “worst leadership in the world,” accusing Engelbert of being “negligent” in her governance.
Collier said the league has failed to sufficiently address issues with officiating, compensation for players and the state of the overall product. She also alleged that Engelbert told her in a private conversation in February that Clark and other young standouts “should be on their knees” in gratitude for the platform the league has given them.
Three days later, the commissioner said there were “a lot of inaccuracies” in Collier’s statement and vehemently denied saying the remarks about Clark. “I did not make those comments,” Engelbert said Oct. 3 at her annual news conference ahead of Game 1 of the WNBA Finals on Friday.
Collier then canceled a meeting she and Engelbert had tentatively planned for the following week, sources told ESPN. Engelbert’s assertion that Collier’s depiction of the private conversation between them was filled with inaccuracies has “pretty much pushed the relationship beyond repair,” a source said.
“Sometimes you want results right away, but it does take time for both parties to come to the table and really agree on certain things.”
Phoenix Mercury forward Satou Sabally
On Oct. 6, as the Las Vegas Aces had taken a 2-0 lead over the Phoenix Mercury in the WNBA Finals, NBA commissioner Adam Silver said a new collective bargaining agreement with WNBA players will be reached but acknowledged relationship issues must be repaired following.
“There’s no question that the WNBA is going through growing pains, and it’s unfortunate that it’s coming just as their most important games and their Finals are on right now,” Silver said Monday. “We’ve had two fantastic games so far, and we want to celebrate the game at the moment, and then we’ve got to sit down with the players and negotiate a new collective bargaining agreement.”
Many WNBA players, including Ogwumike, have said they support Collier, but she didn’t inform Ogwumike or the union about her statement before making it. It came at a difficult time for Collier, after she had suffered a season-ending injury in Game 3 of the semifinals, followed by the top-seeded Lynx being upset in the series by Phoenix.
Whether the relationship between Engelbert and the players can be repaired would take a good faith effort from both sides, which might be even harder to make happen during CBA negotiations when tensions are always high.
Ultimately, the support of Silver and the owners that Engelbert is representing in CBA talks is of utmost importance for her to stay in her position.
Failing to reach agreement by Halloween wouldn’t necessarily translate into a lockout. Prior to the 2020 collective bargaining agreement, for example, the two sides extended the term of the previous CBA until they completed negotiations in mid-January on the eve of free agency. A work stoppage would be unprecedented in WNBA history. During exit interviews following the Indiana Fever’s playoff elimination earlier this month, guard Sophie Cunningham said it is a possibility. “There’s a potential lockout. I promise you we aren’t going to play until they give us what we deserve,” she said. “That’s kind of where it’s headed, unfortunately, which would be the dumbest basketball decision, business-wise, ever, considering the momentum the W has.” The WNBA might have more urgency this year because of everything that must be accomplished this offseason. With the Portland Fire and Toronto Tempo set to begin play in 2026 (and expansion to 18 teams by 2030), the league will need to hold an expansion draft and the draft lottery. Last year’s Golden State Valkyries expansion draft was held Dec. 7, which gave the team time to prepare for free agency and players to promote their inaugural season. Although an offseason lockout would be disruptive, most notably by preventing players from utilizing team facilities to work out — something that’s more of an issue now than in 2020 with multiple teams building dedicated practice facilities that are available to players year-round — the real concern is missing games. That’s not in anyone’s best interest. Specifically, owners have more at stake now that franchise valuations have escalated. Most explicitly in 2003, when negotiations on the WNBA’s second CBA took until April to complete, players have always had to deal with the possibility that owners could withdraw their support for the league. With fierce competition for expansion teams, the WNBA is no longer at risk of going anywhere. That’s increased player resolve to make a deal on their terms — however long that means. “I don’t think anyone wants to see a lockout,” Ogwumike told ESPN shortly after the All-Star Game. “That’s not something that we’re advocating for. We just want to make sure that this is a deal that’s done the right way and using whatever time it takes for us to be able to have both sides agree on something.” Something to watch is how the WNBA adjusts its timeline of key offseason events if the two sides mutually agree to an extension for CBA negotiations. A look at when events were held last offseason leading into the 2025 season: November and December: Expansion draft and draft lottery Last year’s draft lottery was held Nov. 17. With Toronto and Portland joining the WNBA for 2026, the league will need to hold an expansion draft for a second consecutive year. In 2024, the WNBA held the Valkyries’ expansion draft on Dec. 6. January to March: Unrivaled’s second season Unrivaled doesn’t have a direct impact on the WNBA, and its stakeholders have said they don’t view it as competition for the WNBA. But Unrivaled — the 3-on-3 league co-founded by Collier and Breanna Stewart — will be a focal point for women’s basketball this offseason. The amenities, quality of play and continued interest level in the league — which will tip off its second season on Jan. 5, again based in Miami — will be under a microscope. It will be a hub for free agents, general managers and agents during the offseason. January and February: WNBA free agency A mammoth free agency is expected this offseason as almost every player not currently on a rookie contract will be a free agent for the 2026 season. Earlier this year, WNBA free agency ran from Jan. 11 to Feb. 1: Jan. 11-20: Teams sent qualifying offers to designated players, making them either restricted free agents or core players. Jan. 21: The negotiation period for unrestricted free agents began. During this window, restricted free agents also negotiated with other teams during this time, with the original team having the right to match any offer. Feb. 1: Players officially signed contracts and free agent signings were announced. April: WNBA draft and training camps open The 2025 WNBA draft was held on April 14. WNBA training camps opened on April 27. May: WNBA season opens The 2025 season opened May 16.What happens if a new deal isn’t reached by Oct. 31? How realistic is a lockout?
Key dates to know
