The WNBA and its players association have been locked in a contentious collective bargaining agreement (CBA) battle for over 17 months, and as a critical deadline approaches, the players are making one thing clear: they are not backing down.
With the 2026 season scheduled to tip off May 8 and a March 10 deadline set by the league to avoid disruptions to the schedule, the pressure is mounting on both sides to reach a new agreement. So far, no deal has been reached, and based on the players’ latest response, they aren’t interested in settling for less than what they believe they deserve.
In a statement released March 4, 2026, the WNBPA Executive Committee sent a unified message to the league: the current proposal on the table is not good enough, and the players are not divided despite what the league may be hoping for.
“In every CBA negotiation, the goal of the WNBA and teams is to divide the players,” the statement read. “These negotiations are no different. We remain united and focused on delivering a transformational CBA for all members of this Union.”
A recent player survey reinforced that resolve. When asked whether they would accept the league’s proposal of 50% of net revenue, which amounts to less than 15% of gross revenue over an eight year deal, 84% of players said no and want the union to keep negotiating.
ICYMI…the WNBPA Executive Committee recently released this statement and the numbers back it up. 84% of players rejected the league’s current CBA proposal.
— Double Take Sports (@dbltakesports) March 8, 2026
With the March 10th deadline two days away, the union’s message is clear. “There is no #WNBA without the players.” pic.twitter.com/y4aoPOrZ29
That distinction between net and gross revenue is at the heart of this entire standoff and is worth understanding. Net revenue is calculated after the league deducts operating expenses, meaning what sounds like a generous split shrinks considerably once those numbers are applied. The players have been pushing for a share of gross revenue, money calculated before those deductions, which is a fundamentally different and more equitable framework.
Players opted out of the previous CBA in October 2024, and negotiations have been contentious over the last 17 months. The two sides remain far apart on the biggest issues. Revenue sharing and housing have emerged as the primary sticking points, with players pushing for meaningful salary increases in a league where the previous supermax salary sat at roughly $249,000. The players association has proposed an average salary increase from $120,000 to $540,000 in 2026, with projections reaching $780,000 by 2031.
The league set a March 10 deadline, warning that the scheduled May 8 season opener could be in jeopardy without a deal, putting additional pressure on both sides with a college draft, expansion draft, and free agency for over 100 players still to be completed before opening night.
The executive committee, signed by President Nneka Ogwumike, Kelsey Plum, Breanna Stewart, Napheesa Collier, Alysha Clark, Elizabeth Williams, and Brianna Turner, reaffirmed the nearly unanimous strike authorization vote from December remains intact.
“We want to play basketball in 2026,” the statement closed. “There is no WNBA without the players.”
As the March 10 deadline arrives, some of the league’s biggest names are now pushing for a more direct path to resolution. At USA Basketball training camp in Miami on Saturday, Fever guard Caitlin Clark and WNBPA vice president Breanna Stewart both called for an extended in-person bargaining session to get a deal across the finish line.
“I don’t understand why we don’t just get in a room and iron it out and shake hands,” Clark said. “That’s how business is. You look each other in the eye, you shake hands, you respect both sides.”
Stewart echoed that sentiment. “I think that would be great for us all to sit in a room until we really get it done,” she said. “If that means sitting in there for hours and hours at a time, let’s do it.”
The players have made their position clear. The question now is whether both sides are willing to sit across from each other long enough to find common ground before the season, and the momentum the WNBA has worked hard to build, is put at risk.