While WNBA players are negotiating what could be the most consequential collective bargaining agreement in league history, Unrivaled seems to be serving a bigger purpose, providing a gathering space for players to strategize and build solidarity. There’s a flip side to this, as the schedule is making their physical presence for negotiations impossible. And these struggles were recently pointed out by a WNBA reporter.
On Monday, after months of back and forth, the WNBA and the WNBPA held their first in-person meeting to discuss a new collective bargaining agreement since October. The sit-down in New York lasted three hours and was “helpful” to both sides. However, there’s more to the story.
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WNBA reporter Annie Costabile appeared on the Rachel Annamarie DeMita YouTube channel and detailed scheduling problems that show there are bigger structural issues: “Yeah, I think it comes down to the travel issues or not even travel issues, but where they’re currently playing, which we know is in Unrivaled, and what their game schedule’s like, what their training schedule is like. Elizabeth Williams is in Turkey, which is obviously completely different from traveling across the world. Their commitments to where they’re playing now don’t supersede these negotiations, but there’s a real issue.”
This observation shows that scheduling becomes difficult during negotiations because players with Unrivaled contracts, overseas commitments, and the upcoming WNBA season are often unavailable.
Aug 28, 2025; Phoenix, Arizona, USA; Chicago Sky center Elizabeth Williams (1) against the Phoenix Mercury at Phx Arena. Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images
“The offseason is always a harder time to try and connect with people,” Napheesa Collier said in a Zoom last month, before being ruled out for the season because of ankle surgery, “and so to have our CBA happening in the offseason is usually a disadvantage in that way.”
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“To have players congregated where you can have those in-person conversations and updates and things like that, I think that does help things move more quickly.”
Further, Project B, which plans for its inaugural season to begin in November and extend through April, said that its Tokyo tournament stop will start March 26, 2027, and end April 4. The 5-on-5 league is planning a global series of tournaments in Europe, Asia, and the Americas. It’s likely that the Tokyo stop will be one of the league’s last before players return to the WNBA.
And given that several top-tier WNBA stars have deals to play in the league, it could cause problems. However, the WNBA’s proposed changes to the league’s competition window could be an issue.
When you look at the timeline for the CBA negotiations, Costabile’s assessment makes more sense. The WNBA Draft is on April 13, training camps start on April 19, and the preseason games begin on April 25. The first game of the regular season is on May 8. During this time, players like Elizabeth Williams are playing overseas, which makes it harder to negotiate and get the team ready.
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Further, Union leaders were angry that the league didn’t bring a counterproposal to Monday’s three-hour meeting. Around 40 players took part, either in person or on Zoom. Commissioner Cathy Engelbert and more than a dozen team owners and executives were also there. It is harder to coordinate when Unrivaled’s winter league and the WNBA’s offseason timeline don’t match up.
But Costabile found an even bigger problem with the WNBA’s basic structure: “Well, I love that you’re bringing this up because guess what? That league pays them how much money, and their season is how long? They’ve always had exclusivity. The W has never had exclusivity.
“David Stern and Val Ackerman founded the league. Val was the first president. They founded the league, and one of their pitches to players was, ‘We’ll still let you play elsewhere.’ I love this conversation because my opinion about the landscape of women’s basketball is what are we doing? What’s the long-term goal for these players? Is it really worth having their brands diluted by playing in all these leagues all over the world?”
She also said that the way the summer league is set up makes for rushed transitions. Women only have two weeks to get ready, while men have the whole summer. This shows that the WNBA was built on “weak business standards” as an afterthought, not as a top league.
(AP Photo/John Locher)
The real issue is this. There was never a plan for the WNBA to be exclusive. Players can play in other countries, and Unrivaled is now paying them a lot of money in the winter. So they have to choose between making more money somewhere else and building the WNBA. In fact, the fight over salaries makes things worse.
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Players want 30% of gross revenue, but the league only offers 70% of net revenue on average over the duration of the agreement. The two parties concerned need to make their choice before May 8 hits. But till then, the fans may live by the optimism some of the players have voiced.
Caitlin Clark’s optimism about the WNBA deal
Caitlin Clark hasn’t played since July because she hurt her groin, but she’s excited to get back on the field when the season starts on May 8. She used her first time on NBC to send a hopeful message about the negotiations.
Clark’s message on the air seemed clear: “I feel very confident that we’re going to get something done. And that’s because we’re in this moment because of the product we put on the floor, so we need to continue to do that. I really do feel confident that both sides are going to reach a deal here soon.”
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Clark’s confidence makes both sides feel the pressure, which is good. The Fever star’s public support for a deal shows that the players are all on the same page.
Nothing will change until the WNBA talks about exclusivity and how overseas leagues fit into CBA rules. Players will keep trying to find a balance between making money in other leagues and making the WNBA their main league.
