Much has been made of the WNBA’s ongoing CBA negotiations with the WNBAPA, which is getting dangerously close to impacting the start of the 2026 campaign. On Tuesday, the WNBAPA submitted its counterproposal to the league’s latest offer, which included more concessions than most fans and analysts expected, considering the hardball the Players Association has been playing publicly.
Still, the league’s response was a disheartening one for anyone hoping to see things wrapped succintly saying that it was “unrealistic & would cause hundreds of millions of dollars of losses for our teams. We… are running out of time. We believe the WNBA’s proposal would result in a huge win for current players & generations to come.”
It’s an interesting reaction, considering the league has refused to publish any refutable numbers or dive into the league’s financials to substantiate its claims.
A recent anonymous survey of players with WNBA ties, conducted by ESPN, reveals just how close the league’s stance is to resulting in a lost season.
“I think [the league and owners] just feel that we’re gonna just sign, and we’re not. We’re gonna just sit out if that’s the case. Like, we deserve it,” one player said when asked how anxious she was about the state of negotiations.
“It’s either gonna happen, or it’s not. I can’t worry about it. Not gonna stress myself over something I can’t control,” responded another.
“I feel like it’s not imminent at this point,” executive committee treasurer Brianna Turner said of the WNBAPA calling a strike, which the union has already authorized it to do. “It’s still early February, like we’re still going. So I feel like we’re still in a waiting game at the moment.”
It’s time for WNBA commissioner Cathy Engelbert and the owners to pony up before they ruin one of the best things going in sports.