{"id":540879,"date":"2026-03-16T20:59:09","date_gmt":"2026-03-16T20:59:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/540879\/"},"modified":"2026-03-16T20:59:09","modified_gmt":"2026-03-16T20:59:09","slug":"wnba-and-players-union-race-against-clock-as-cba-negotiations-enter-critical-marathon-phase","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/540879\/","title":{"rendered":"WNBA and Players Union Race Against Clock as CBA Negotiations Enter Critical Marathon Phase"},"content":{"rendered":"

AVANDATIMES.COM \u2013 Negotiations between the WNBA<\/a> and its players\u2019 union have entered a grueling seventh consecutive day of face-to-face discussions, with both sides reporting incremental progress toward a new collective bargaining agreement (CBA) despite lingering disputes over core economic issues. The intensity of the talks has reached a fever pitch in New York, where bargaining sessions have consistently stretched past midnight, totaling more than 75 hours of direct dialogue since last Tuesday. AvandaTimes observed that the urgency of these meetings reflects the high stakes for a league currently experiencing unprecedented growth and cultural momentum.<\/p>\n

Marathon Sessions and Leadership Resolve<\/p>\n

The most recent round of negotiations concluded in the early hours of Monday morning, with league officials and player representatives departing the table around 3 a.m. WNBA Commissioner Cathy Engelbert<\/a> emphasized the intricate nature of the deal currently being hammered out. \u201cWe\u2019re working as hard as we can to get it done as quickly as possible,\u201d Engelbert stated following the pre-dawn conclusion of the session. \u201cIt\u2019s complex. There\u2019s a lot. There\u2019s a lot of system elements. There\u2019s a lot of structure elements. \u2026 This is a big, big league and we want to do everything we can for the players. So, we\u2019re going to keep making progress.\u201d<\/p>\n

Terri Carmichael Jackson, the executive director of the players\u2019 union, echoed the sentiment of persistence while acknowledging that significant hurdles remain. \u201cWe\u2019re still working. We\u2019re still fighting. There\u2019s still some things that we have to \u2014 big issue things \u2014 that we have to get through,\u201d Jackson said. \u201cSo, we\u2019re just going to stick with it and stay with it.\u201d<\/p>\n

Core Sticking Points: Revenue and Housing<\/p>\n

The primary obstacles to a final agreement center on the financial structure of the league, specifically regarding revenue sharing and the long-standing practice of team-provided housing. The two sides remain divided on whether to calculate player shares based on gross or net revenue. According to AvandaTimes monitoring, the following table illustrates the current gap in financial proposals:<\/p>\n

IssueLeague ProposalUnion ProposalRevenue Sharing BasisNet Revenue (after expenses)Gross Revenue (before expenses)Proposed PercentageOver 70% of Net Revenue26% of Gross RevenueHousing PolicyPhasing out team-paid housingMaintaining support during transition<\/p>\n

Nneka Ogwumike<\/a>, a key member of the players\u2019 executive committee, highlighted the complexity of transitioning away from the traditional housing model. \u201cWe\u2019re trying to enter into this transitional space where we are now making enough money to be able to take care of that, but we\u2019re not quite at the point where we can eliminate it outright,\u201d Ogwumike explained.<\/p>\n

Timeline Pressures and Season Readiness<\/p>\n

With the 2026 season scheduled to tip off on May 8, the window for a resolution is narrowing. Training camps are slated to begin on April 19, and the league still faces a packed administrative calendar, including the college draft, free agency for 80% of the roster, and expansion drafts for new franchises in Portland and Toronto. Deborah R. Willig, counsel for the union, noted the unexpected length of the process. \u201cFor myself, I thought we were going to get this done yesterday, and I thought the day before so I would hope, but this has been an extraordinarily unusual set of labor negotiations, and I\u2019ve been doing this for over 50 years,\u201d Willig remarked. \u201cI think the why, frankly, is because the league underestimated seriously the resolve of the players and what they sought to achieve.\u201d<\/p>\n

Despite the exhaustion of 14-hour days, Jen Rizzotti, president of the Connecticut Sun and a member of the labor relations committee, praised the commitment of both parties. \u201cThe fact that they just don\u2019t want to stop, both sides, it\u2019s not just the league side, it\u2019s even the union,\u201d Rizzotti said. \u201cThey want to get it done. I think it\u2019s admirable to know that they\u2019re paying attention to the fact that this is crucial and time is of the essence and we need to have a season.\u201d<\/p>\n

Looking Ahead to the Preseason<\/p>\n

If a deal is reached soon, the league can proceed with its scheduled preseason games starting April 25, featuring high-profile matchups such as the Indiana Fever visiting New York and the Golden State expansion team facing Seattle. Regarding potential delays to training camp, Engelbert remained uncertain. \u201cI wish I knew the answer to that. I do not know the answer to that,\u201d she admitted. \u201cBut you see us here at three in the morning, four in the morning, at five in the morning. So that gives an indication that both sides are motivated at that time.\u201d<\/p>\n

Jackson confirmed that the players are prepared for any necessary logistical shifts. \u201cThere\u2019s a season schedule that has their own milestones. Right? Absolutely. We recognize that and we respect those,\u201d Jackson said. \u201cWe also recognize that these are big time negotiations and so that there may be a need to adjust. Absolutely. And the players more importantly, recognize that, understand that, and are prepared for it as they always have been.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"AVANDATIMES.COM \u2013 Negotiations between the WNBA and its players\u2019 union have entered a grueling seventh consecutive day of…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":520845,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[629],"tags":[4657,49,48,11628,4653,82,630,56438],"class_list":["post-540879","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-wnba","tag-breanna-stewart","tag-ca","tag-canada","tag-cathy-engelbert","tag-nneka-ogwumike","tag-sports","tag-wnba","tag-wnbpa"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/540879","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=540879"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/540879\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/520845"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=540879"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=540879"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=540879"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}