{"id":400226,"date":"2026-01-10T09:23:07","date_gmt":"2026-01-10T09:23:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/400226\/"},"modified":"2026-01-10T09:23:07","modified_gmt":"2026-01-10T09:23:07","slug":"wnba-says-negotiations-remain-ongoing-as-cba-expires","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/400226\/","title":{"rendered":"WNBA says negotiations \u2018remain ongoing\u2019 as CBA expires"},"content":{"rendered":"

LOS ANGELES \u2013 The collective bargaining agreement (CBA) between the Women\u2019s Basketball Association (WNBA) and the Women\u2019s National Basketball Players Association (WNBPA) officially expired at midnight eastern time on Jan 9, with the sides reportedly still far apart on key issues.<\/p>\n

The league acknowledged the passing of the deadline \u2013 which had already been extended twice, first from Oct 31 to Nov 30 and then again to January \u2013 while saying that negotiations remain ongoing.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe current collective bargaining agreement has expired, and negotiations with the Women\u2019s National Basketball Players Association remain ongoing,\u201d the league said in a statement. <\/p>\n

\u201cAs the league experiences a pivotal time of unprecedented popularity and growth, we recognise the importance of building upon that momentum. Our priority is a deal that significantly increases player salaries, enhances the overall player experience, and supports the long-term growth of the league for current and future generations of players and fans.\u201d<\/p>\n

New York Liberty star Breanna Stewart told reporters on Jan 8 that the two sides remain far apart on multiple issues and were not going to hammer out an agreement before the deadline \u2013 with a third extension not on the table.<\/p>\n

The expiration of the CBA does not mean a strike is imminent, even though the players previously <\/p>\n

voted to give their union authority to initiate one<\/p>\n

<\/a>.<\/p>\n

A strike is \u201cnot something that we\u2019re going to do right this second, but we have that in our back pocket\u201d, Stewart said on Jan 8.<\/p>\n

ESPN and USA Today also reported that the league is not planning to move towards a lockout, with both parties believing a 2026 season will be played.<\/p>\n

This leaves what is called a \u201cstatus quo\u201d period, in which the working conditions from the previous CBA remain in place and the sides are able to keep negotiating.<\/p>\n

Among the key issues still at play are the levels of player salaries and the methods of revenue sharing. The WNBA\u2019s latest offer included between 50 and 70 per cent of the league\u2019s net revenues going to the players, while the union wants a certain percentage of the gross revenue instead, per ESPN and USA Today reports.<\/p>\n

The WNBA has not lost games due to labour issues in its 30-year history. However, the continued negotiation stand-off shrinks the league\u2019s off-season in which it has to fit in an expansion draft for the new Portland and Toronto franchises, free agency and the college draft in a shorter period.<\/p>\n

The season is scheduled to begin in May. <\/p>\n

In September 2025, Minnesota Lynx star Napheesa Collier, the WNBPA vice-president, called a press conference and said WNBA commissioner Cathy Engelbert was providing the \u201cworst leadership in the world\u201d.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s clear there\u2019s no intention of accepting there\u2019s a problem (with the league\u2019s officiating, in particular). The league has made it clear, it isn\u2019t about innovation. It isn\u2019t about collaboration. It\u2019s about control and power,\u201d she added.<\/p>\n

In mid-December, the WNBA\u2019s players voted to give president Nneka Ogwumike and the executive committee the authority to potentially initiate a strike. <\/p>\n

\u201cThe players have spoken,\u201d the union said in a statement. \u201cThrough a decisive vote with historic participation, our membership has authorised the WNBPA\u2019s executive committee to call a strike when necessary. The players\u2019 decision is an unavoidable response to the state of negotiations with the WNBA and its teams.\u201d REUTERS<\/p>\n<\/p>\n

Basketball playersStrikesUnited States<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"LOS ANGELES \u2013 The collective bargaining agreement (CBA) between the Women\u2019s Basketball Association (WNBA) and the Women\u2019s National…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":381128,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[629],"tags":[49,48,82,630],"class_list":{"0":"post-400226","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-wnba","8":"tag-ca","9":"tag-canada","10":"tag-sports","11":"tag-wnba"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/400226","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=400226"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/400226\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/381128"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=400226"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=400226"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=400226"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}