{"id":530698,"date":"2026-03-18T11:39:12","date_gmt":"2026-03-18T11:39:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/530698\/"},"modified":"2026-03-18T11:39:12","modified_gmt":"2026-03-18T11:39:12","slug":"wnba-wnbapa-agree-to-cba-heres-what-that-means","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/530698\/","title":{"rendered":"WNBA, WNBAPA agree to CBA; here&#8217;s what that means"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>The WNBAPA and WNBA reached a verbal agreement on a new collective bargaining agreement early Wednesday morning the sides announced.<\/p>\n<p>A terms sheet is being finalized, with the players and then the WNBA Board of Governors voting on it; that process will <a href=\"https:\/\/frontofficesports.com\/wnba-wnbpa-cba-verbal-agreement-deal\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" data-ylk=\"slk:&quot;occur in the coming weeks,&quot; according to frontofficesports.com;elm:context_link;itc:0;sec:content-canvas\" data-yga=\"{&quot;yLinkElement&quot;:&quot;context_link&quot;,&quot;yModuleName&quot;:&quot;content-canvas&quot;,&quot;yLinkText&quot;:&quot;&amp;quot&quot;}\" class=\"link \">&#8220;occur in the coming weeks,&#8221; according to frontofficesports.com<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>Advertisement<\/p>\n<p>Specifics on the agreement were not available according to multiple media reports, but it&#8217;s expected to reflect the league&#8217;s growth and popularity since the Fever&#8217;s Caitlin Clark entered the league in 2024. The salary cap is expected to be tied to revenue with supermax salaries exceeding $1 million.<\/p>\n<p>Training camp for the Fever and the rest of the teams are expected to open April 19 as scheduled, according to WNBA commissioner Cathy Engelbert, with preseason games beginning April 25 and the regular season opening May 8. The league must hold an expansion draft, free agency and the college draft over the next 30 days.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cFor 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,\u201d WNBPA president Nneka Ogwumike said to media. \u201cIt 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.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Engelbert added: \u201cWe\u2019re proud of these players. We think it\u2019s a fair win-win deal for all or we wouldn\u2019t be standing here right now.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>1 \/ 6<\/p>\n<p>Caitlin Clark, USA Basketball photos in World Cup qualifying<\/p>\n<p>Caitlin Clark of the Indiana Fever competes in World Cup qualifying in March 2026.<\/p>\n<p><img alt=\"\" fetchpriority=\"high\" decoding=\"async\" data-nimg=\"fill\" class=\"cropped-img\" style=\"position:absolute;height:100%;width:100%;left:0;top:0;right:0;bottom:0;color:transparent\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/bda3449dd350f7c1709dadf0eee6ae56.jpeg\"\/><\/p>\n<p>1 \/ 6<\/p>\n<p>Caitlin Clark, USA Basketball photos in World Cup qualifying<\/p>\n<p>Caitlin Clark of the Indiana Fever competes in World Cup qualifying in March 2026.<\/p>\n<p><img alt=\"\" fetchpriority=\"high\" decoding=\"async\" data-nimg=\"fill\" class=\"cropped-img\" style=\"position:absolute;height:100%;width:100%;left:0;top:0;right:0;bottom:0;color:transparent\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/a373c268a26372743add1e3ced9efb53.jpeg\"\/><\/p>\n<p>2 \/ 6<\/p>\n<p>Caitlin Clark, USA Basketball photos in World Cup qualifying<\/p>\n<p>Caitlin Clark of the Indiana Fever competes in World Cup qualifying in March 2026.<\/p>\n<p><img alt=\"\" fetchpriority=\"high\" decoding=\"async\" data-nimg=\"fill\" class=\"cropped-img\" style=\"position:absolute;height:100%;width:100%;left:0;top:0;right:0;bottom:0;color:transparent\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/0f638e7c644f2b53c8a34d02b45ceb75.jpeg\"\/><\/p>\n<p>3 \/ 6<\/p>\n<p>Caitlin Clark, USA Basketball photos in World Cup qualifying<\/p>\n<p>Caitlin Clark of the Indiana Fever, with Monique Billings, competes in World Cup qualifying in March 2026.<\/p>\n<p><img alt=\"\" fetchpriority=\"high\" decoding=\"async\" data-nimg=\"fill\" class=\"cropped-img\" style=\"position:absolute;height:100%;width:100%;left:0;top:0;right:0;bottom:0;color:transparent\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/c80cef1b9018d53bb54a2dbccf52fd53.jpeg\"\/><\/p>\n<p>4 \/ 6<\/p>\n<p>Caitlin Clark, USA Basketball photos in World Cup qualifying<\/p>\n<p>Caitlin Clark of the Indiana Fever competes in World Cup qualifying in March 2026.<\/p>\n<p><img alt=\"\" fetchpriority=\"high\" decoding=\"async\" data-nimg=\"fill\" class=\"cropped-img\" style=\"position:absolute;height:100%;width:100%;left:0;top:0;right:0;bottom:0;color:transparent\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/8d3b18e9bea484e81e6a79022ca28bdd.jpeg\"\/><\/p>\n<p>5 \/ 6<\/p>\n<p>Caitlin Clark, USA Basketball photos in World Cup qualifying<\/p>\n<p>Indiana Fever coach Stefanie White is an assistant coach for the USA in World Cup qualifying in March 2026.<\/p>\n<p><img alt=\"\" fetchpriority=\"high\" decoding=\"async\" data-nimg=\"fill\" class=\"cropped-img\" style=\"position:absolute;height:100%;width:100%;left:0;top:0;right:0;bottom:0;color:transparent\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/5ff016f75c13908b3740b7b6c01b16f2.jpeg\"\/><\/p>\n<p>6 \/ 6<\/p>\n<p>Caitlin Clark, USA Basketball photos in World Cup qualifying<\/p>\n<p>Caitlin Clark of the Indiana Fever competes in World Cup qualifying in March 2026.<\/p>\n<p>The two sides had been negotiating for 17 months after the WNBAPA opted out of the previous CBA in October 2024. League activity, starting with free agency, was halted Jan. 12. This agreement came after eight days of marathon bargaining sessions.<\/p>\n<p>Advertisement<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThis deal is going to be transformational,\u201d the Liberty&#8217;s Breanna Stewart said early Wednesday morning. \u201cYou\u2019ll see the details hopefully soon but it\u2019s 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\u2019m just excited that we can tell our fans that we\u2019re going to be back.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: <a href=\"https:\/\/www.indystar.com\/story\/sports\/basketball\/wnba\/fever\/2026\/03\/18\/wnba-wnbapa-agree-to-cba-heres-what-that-means\/89206716007\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" data-ylk=\"slk:WNBA, WNBAPA agree to CBA; here&#039;s what that means;elm:context_link;itc:0;sec:content-canvas\" data-yga=\"{&quot;yLinkElement&quot;:&quot;context_link&quot;,&quot;yModuleName&quot;:&quot;content-canvas&quot;,&quot;yLinkText&quot;:&quot;WNBA, WNBAPA agree to CBA&quot;}\" class=\"link \">WNBA, WNBAPA agree to CBA; here&#8217;s what that means<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The WNBAPA and WNBA reached a verbal agreement on a new collective bargaining agreement early Wednesday morning the&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":530699,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[73],"tags":[435,1760,18116,4129,214876,4385,99,238577,14978,434,238576],"class_list":["post-530698","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-wnba","tag-breanna-stewart","tag-caitlin-clark","tag-cathy-engelbert","tag-fever","tag-media-reports","tag-nneka-ogwumike","tag-sports","tag-verbal-agreement","tag-wednesday-morning","tag-wnba","tag-wnba-board-of-governors"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/530698","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=530698"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/530698\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/530699"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=530698"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=530698"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=530698"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}