It is December 2025, but WNBA fans aren’t sure if there will be a 2026 WNBA season. And let’s be honest. For the first time in league history, it is possible that there could be a league work stoppage — and perhaps … even a league where there the WNBA’s future could be uncertain.
If you are wondering whether the league and the WNBPA Players’ Union are closer to a Collective Bargaining Agreement than before, the answer is uncertain at best. And hell no at worst. Today, Cat Ariail, Swish Appeal’s site manager wrote a great analysis piece on the players’ union staying strong on their demands from the WNBA for a fair piece of revenue sharing, not just more pay. They also still demand team provided housing, among other things.
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The WNBA has reportedly wanted a longer season, training camp to start in March when rookies from colleges don’t show up until mid April at earliest, probably as an attempt to lower the incentive for players to play in one basketball league (America or otherwise) or another. Historically, the WNBA has allowed players to play overseas or in other leagues during the winter. But the league doesn’t appear to be so kind to that anymore.
Players still want their flexibility to play overseas if they choose. And they appear to be willing to leave the WNBA if they choose. Indiana Fever guard Sophie Cunningham recently said on a podcast that she would be open to quitting the league altogether if her new offseason league, Project B, which is a 5×5 league consisting of six 11-woman teams that will play in several two week tournaments in Latin America, Asia and Europe. Players could be paid $2 million each, though details are murky. That is higher than any offer the WNBA has offered so far.
I have reservations on how all of these startup women’s basketball leagues will survive for differing reasons. But they all point to the assertion that the WNBA, even given its rapid rise in the 2020s, is not giving a fair enough deal for players. And unlike the NBA, players have multiple options to play —and we didn’t get to the EuroLeague Women, Chinese and Australian teams yet.
I think it’s important to make sure that the WNBA offers a fair deal for players and their pay. But I also believe that it’s fair for the WNBA to demand that players are loyal to the WNBA in return for the increase in pay. If the WNBA is truly the best women’s professional basketball league in the world, it must pay the market rate to players. Even if that results in short term losses.
If not, the international leagues (as well as plenty of my ramblings on this topic) will win out.
Let us know your thoughts in the comments below.
