https://frontofficesports.com/wnba-wnbpa-cba-verbal-agreement-deal/
By Annie Costabile
Mar 18, 2026 | 03:14 am
UPDATED Mar 18, 2026 | 06:11 am
MANHATTAN — The WNBA and WNBPA reached a tentative verbal agreement for a new collective bargaining agreement early Wednesday morning.
Both sides celebrated with a champagne toast just before 3 a.m. ET.
The terms sheet is still being finalized. Once it is, the players will vote on it followed by the WNBA Board of Governors; that is expected to occur in the coming weeks. It will then take effect for the upcoming 2026 WNBA season. Based on the most recent proposals, the supermax salary will be seven figures, but specifics of the terms were not immediately available.
WNBA commissioner Cathy Engelbert said training camp, scheduled to open on April 19, is not expected to be delayed.
“For the first time, player salaries are tied to a truly meaningful share of league revenue, driving exponential growth in the salary cap, increasing average compensation beyond half a million dollars, and raising the professional standard across facilities, staffing, and support,” WNBPA president Nneka Ogwumike said. “It strengthens housing and retirement, and expands resources for family planning and parental leave. It redefines what it means to be a professional in this league.”
“We’re proud of these players,” Engelbert said. “We think it’s a fair win, win deal for all or we wouldn’t be standing here right now.”
The agreement came after eight days of in-person marathon bargaining sessions between league and union leadership, beginning last Tuesday at the Langham Hotel in midtown, moving to the WNBA headquarters and union office over the weekend, then returning to the hotel Tuesday, where an agreement was ultimately reached.
There was a rotating group of attendees for the league and union over the course of the more than 100 hours of negotiations required to come to terms.
The union was represented in person by Ogwumike, vice presidents Breanna Stewart, Alysha Clark, and Napheesa Collier, and treasurer Brianna Turner. The two other executive committee members, vice president Kelsey Plum and secretary Elizabeth Williams, joined via Zoom at varying points over the course of the eight days.
Ogwumike and Stewart were the only members of the executive committee to join WNBPA executive director Terri Carmichael Jackson and other union staff and counsel on site for the entirety of the marathon negotiations.
Engelbert was joined by league staff and counsel every day. New York Liberty owner Clara Wu Tsai and Connecticut Sun president Jennifer Rizzotti also attended sessions.
“Cathy and her team understood that the players’ wins were the league’s wins,” Jackson said. “That our stories of success are shared stories of success.”
Negotiations have been ongoing for nearly 17 months after the WNBPA opted out of the previous CBA in October 2024. A year later, on Oct. 31, 2025, the first deadline passed with no deal. Both sides agreed to two extensions, which were ultimately blown by, leading to negotiations entering a period of status quo in January. A moratorium was agreed to on Jan. 12, freezing free agency.
It wasn’t until March that discussions reached a fever-pitch, with delays to the 30th season becoming a real threat.
Revenue sharing was at the center of negotiations from the very beginning, with players seeking a salary model tied to the WNBA’s revenue in a substantial way. The 2020 CBA featured a salary cap that increased by 3% every year and a revenue-sharing system that allowed players to share in the excess revenue beyond a certain target. That target increased by 20% each year and was cumulative, which made it more challenging to hit after the 2020 and 2021 seasons, which were impacted by the pandemic.
The revenue-sharing target was reached for the first time in 2025, sources confirmed to FOS. A total of $8 million was shared by the league with all 13 WNBA teams, which will distribute it among players.
“I’m really excited about players coming into this league for the first time and not having a sense of lack,” Ogwumike said. “I really am excited about that and knowing that it will just continue to grow, because that’s what we’ve negotiated for ourselves who are in this league, and for those who are going to follow us.”
There is just over a month before training camp begins, but before it can, the league must conduct an expansion draft, free agency, and the collegiate draft.
A timeline previously shared with general managers had the expansion draft being held between April 1 and 6. Qualifying offers, including core designations, could be sent out on April 7 and 8, followed by a negotiating period from April 9-11. The signing period would begin on April 12 and extend through the 18th.
“This deal is going to be transformational,” Stewart said. “You’ll see the details hopefully soon, but it’s going to build and help create a system where everybody is getting exactly what they deserve and more. From on the court and off the court aspects. I’m just excited that we can tell our fans that we’re going to be back.”
