As talks between the WNBA and WNBPA over a new collective bargaining remain ongoing, the league is targeting Monday as a hard deadline in order for the 2026 season to start on time. <\/p>\n
Speaking to the media<\/a> on Friday, WNBA commissioner Cathy Engelbert said a deal has to be in place at the start of next week to avoid “disrupting” the league calendar:<\/p>\n “We have to get it done by Monday. I should say, we have to get it done without disrupting some part of the fact that we’ve got to run this two-team expansion [draft]. We’ve got to get expansion going. We’ve got to get free agency going. We’ve got to get the college draft, which is now a month from today.”<\/p>\n Engelbert’s comments came after the league and union engaged in a 15-hour negotiating session on Friday and have “exchanged” over 15 proposals in the past four days of talks, per ESPN’s Alexa Philippou<\/a>. <\/p>\n Philippou<\/a> previously reported that the WNBA set a March 10 deadline for an agreement in order for the 2026 schedule not to be impacted. <\/p>\n WNBPA executive director Terri Carmichael Jackson told reporters<\/a> on Friday amid the negotiating session that the two sides have been able to “chip away” at some of their differences. <\/p>\n “I think the continued conversations [this week] have helped us chip away at what the concerns are for both sides and how we meet them, how we address them,” Jackson said.<\/p>\n Whenever the CBA deal gets done, the league has to go through the expansion draft for the Portland Fire and Toronto Tempo, followed by free agency and the draft. <\/p>\n The draft is currently scheduled for April 13, with training camps set to open<\/a> six days later. <\/p>\n