As talks between the WNBA and WNBPA over a new collective bargaining remain ongoing, the league is targeting Monday as a hard deadline in order for the 2026 season to start on time.
Speaking to the media on Friday, WNBA commissioner Cathy Engelbert said a deal has to be in place at the start of next week to avoid “disrupting” the league calendar:
“We have to get it done by Monday. I should say, we have to get it done without disrupting some part of the fact that we’ve got to run this two-team expansion [draft]. We’ve got to get expansion going. We’ve got to get free agency going. We’ve got to get the college draft, which is now a month from today.”
Engelbert’s comments came after the league and union engaged in a 15-hour negotiating session on Friday and have “exchanged” over 15 proposals in the past four days of talks, per ESPN’s Alexa Philippou.
Philippou previously reported that the WNBA set a March 10 deadline for an agreement in order for the 2026 schedule not to be impacted.
WNBPA executive director Terri Carmichael Jackson told reporters on Friday amid the negotiating session that the two sides have been able to “chip away” at some of their differences.
“I think the continued conversations [this week] have helped us chip away at what the concerns are for both sides and how we meet them, how we address them,” Jackson said.
Whenever the CBA deal gets done, the league has to go through the expansion draft for the Portland Fire and Toronto Tempo, followed by free agency and the draft.
The draft is currently scheduled for April 13, with training camps set to open six days later.
The WNBA released the full 2026 regular-season schedule in January. Opening night is scheduled for May 8 with three games, starting with the Connecticut Sun taking on the New York Liberty at Barclays Center.
This content was brought to you by: Bleacher Report – Front Page
