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The WNBA and WNBPA held 12 hours of talks in New York but failed to agree on a new contract. Key issues like revenue sharing and player housing remain unresolved.
WNBA superstar A’ja Wilson (AFP)
A marathon round of negotiations between the WNBA and the players’ union stretched into the early hours of Wednesday morning — but ended without a new collective bargaining agreement.
According to multiple reports, representatives from the league and the Women’s National Basketball Players Association (WNBPA) met at a New York hotel beginning at 5 p.m. Tuesday. The talks ran nearly 12 hours, finally wrapping up shortly after 5 a.m., with no agreement reached.
League officials had set March 10 as the target date for reaching at least a framework for a new deal to avoid disruption to the upcoming season.
Players have technically been operating without a long-term agreement since October 2024, when the WNBPA opted out of the existing CBA a year before its scheduled Oct. 31, 2025, expiration.
The union’s goal at the time was to negotiate a more lucrative deal amid the league’s rapid growth and rising revenues.
But months of negotiations have produced little movement so far, with key issues, including revenue sharing and player housing benefits, still unresolved.
Clock Is Ticking
Time is quickly becoming the league’s biggest pressure point.
The WNBA regular season is scheduled to tip off May 8, and any delay could lead to lost revenue tied to ticket sales, sponsorship agreements and broadcast contracts.
The calendar is also packed with important milestones.
The league still needs to conduct free agency, organise an expansion draft for incoming teams, Toronto Tempo and Portland Fire, and navigate a market where roughly 80% of players are set to become free agents.
League officials had previously indicated that at least a handshake agreement by March 10 was necessary to keep preparations for the season on track.
A ‘Complex’ Situation
WNBA commissioner Cathy Engelbert acknowledged the difficulty of the negotiations after leaving the meeting early Wednesday morning.
“It’s complex,” Engelbert told reporters outside the hotel after 5 a.m. “We’re working towards a win-win deal like we’ve been saying, a transformational deal for these players that balances all the things we’ve been trying to balance with continued investment by our owners. So we’re working hard towards that, and we still have work to do.”
WNBPA executive director Terri Jackson struck a similarly measured tone, emphasising that negotiations are ongoing.
“Conversations are continuing, and they need to be,” Jackson said.
“Every meeting is a positive meeting. Seriously, every meeting is a positive meeting. The fact that we schedule meetings, that we offer dates, and actually get in the room is positive. It’s taking as long as it’s taking. But that’s what it needs to be.”
For now, the clock keeps ticking.
(with Reuters inputs)
March 11, 2026, 23:18 IST
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