The WNBA and the WNBPA (players union) do not have a Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA) for the 2026 season and beyond since Oct. 31. However, the two sides agreed to a 30 day extension of talks. Today is that day and it doesn’t appear that there will be an agreement. According to Ben Pickman of The Athletic, the two sides are still apart on the WNBA’s salary structure.
What are the things that could happen? First, there could be a work stoppage. If the owners do it, that’s a lockout. Players would be barred from team training facilities and direct contact with team personnel. However, if players do it, that’s a strike in which players agree not to contact team personnel or attend team training facilities. Given that the WNBA Draft Lottery was last week, it doesn’t seem likely that a work stoppage would happen. In addition, the WNBA offseason is very long. There isn’t a pressing date on the calendar, like the 2026 NCAA Division 1 women’s basketball championship game in April 2026 within the next couple days to force some major negotiation, one way or another.
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However, the 2025-26 WNBA offseason calendar will not just be another period of free agency, even if players are in line to receive a lot more money. The Toronto Tempo and Portland Fire will be the WNBA’s next two expansion teams. So the current 13 WNBA teams, including the Washington Mystics, need to determine which players to protect from an expansion draft. Last year, the Golden State Valkyries held an expansion draft in Dec. 2024. If there is no active or a pending new CBA in the coming days, it’s possible that the expansion draft may not happen until sometime in 2026. There is currently no expansion draft scheduled.
So in short, the WNBA and the WNBPA still appear to be in a holding pattern. And as long as the two sides are talking, that’s a good thing.
