{"id":3436,"date":"2026-01-22T15:39:02","date_gmt":"2026-01-22T15:39:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/dbltakesports.com\/?p=3436"},"modified":"2026-01-22T15:39:03","modified_gmt":"2026-01-22T15:39:03","slug":"wnba-schedule-2026-why-timing-matters-for-cba-talks-and-new-teams","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/dbltakesports.com\/index.php\/2026\/01\/22\/wnba-schedule-2026-why-timing-matters-for-cba-talks-and-new-teams\/","title":{"rendered":"WNBA Schedule 2026: Why Timing Matters for CBA Talks and New Teams"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

The WNBA recently released its most ambitious schedule<\/a> in league history: 44 games per team, two expansion franchises, and 330 total games across 15 teams. Commissioner Cathy Engelbert called it a celebration of the league\u2019s \u201cunprecedented momentum.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

She\u2019s right. The WNBA is experiencing genuine growth: record attendance, rising stars, and expansion buzz.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But the timing tells a story. This schedule dropped while CBA negotiations are stalled <\/a>and free agency is frozen. The league is showcasing expansion and revenue growth at the exact moment both sides are negotiating what that growth is worth.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Revenue Play <\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Forty-four games per team means more tickets to sell. In addition to that, nineteen games are happening at \u201cspecial venues,” arenas larger than teams\u2019 usual home courts. Las Vegas brings three games to T-Mobile Arena. Chicago will use United Center. Connecticut takes games to TD Garden in Boston.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The strategy is clear: fill bigger buildings, generate more revenue and prove the WNBA is in demand.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Now add in the Commissioner\u2019s Cup taking over the entire league schedule for 17 days in June with Coinbase sponsorship, and you\u2019re looking at multiple revenue streams working together.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This matters because revenue sharing is the biggest sticking point in CBA negotiations. The players\u2019 union wants about 30% of gross revenue. The league wants to share a percentage of net revenue after expenses.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This schedule, with its expanded games and bigger venues, is concrete evidence of the revenue both sides are in contention over.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Two Expansion Teams, Two Very Different Approaches<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

The WNBA is adding two expansion teams this season: the Portland Fire and Toronto Tempo.

Portland is the safe play. The Fire returns to a city that supported a WNBA team before, playing in an established NBA arena. It’s a proven market with solid infrastructure and engaged fanbase.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Toronto is the risk.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As the league\u2019s first international franchise, the Tempo represents global ambitions. Their \u201chome\u201d schedule is very telling: four different buildings across three cities. Coca-Cola Coliseum in Toronto, Scotiabank Arena in Toronto, Bell Centre in Montreal, Rogers Arena in Vancouver.

Most WNBA teams build their identity around one city, one fanbase. Toronto is essentially operating as four different franchises depending on the week. Fans in Toronto don’t get consistency of attending regular home games. Players don’t get the rhythm of a true home-court advantage. And the team itself has to establish an identity across multiple markets instead of planting roots in one. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The league is betting Toronto can create a national following rather than a local one. It’s ambitious. It’s also untested.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

If Toronto succeeds, it proves the WNBA can work internationally. If it struggles, it\u2019s a very public warning about expanding too fast.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What’s Not in the Press Release<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

The WNBA’s schedule announcement was polished and optimistic, all about growth, momentum, and celebrating 30 years. But press releases are just as much about what they leave out as they are what they include. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

There\u2019s no mention of charter flights, a major player demand. No TV deal specifics beyond \u201cover 200 games\u201d being nationally broadcast. No explanation for why Washington plays just one game at Capital One Arena<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Here\u2019s the context: The previous CBA expired January 9th. Negotiations are in a \u201cstatus quo\u201d period where old terms stay in effect while both sides keep talking. Free agency is frozen because 75% of the league\u2019s players refuse to sign contracts under old salary structures when massive increases are being negotiated.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The league\u2019s most recent proposal would raise average salaries from $120,000 to over $530,000. Maximum salaries would hit $1 million, up from $249,000.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But players want a percentage of gross revenue. The league wants to share net revenue after expenses. That\u2019s the fundamental disagreement.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

So when the WNBA releases a schedule celebrating growth\u201444 games, international expansion, bigger venues\u2014while negotiations are stalled, it\u2019s worth noting what\u2019s emphasized and what\u2019s not.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The league says the schedule is for logistical planning. But it\u2019s also landing in the middle of the most important CBA negotiations in league history.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Bottom Line<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

This schedule is a business document released at a specific moment.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It shows investors the league is expanding. It tells cities considering teams that the WNBA is viable. It proves the league has moved past fighting for survival.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

And it documents growth while both sides negotiate what that growth is worth.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The basketball will be great. Caitlin Clark versus Paige Bueckers opening weekend, the Aces chasing a historic winning streak, and new markets in Portland and Toronto.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But if you\u2019re only seeing the games, you\u2019re missing what\u2019s really happening. This schedule dropped during negotiations for a reason, whether the league says it out loud or not.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The WNBA just released a schedule celebrating unprecedented growth. What they didn’t mention? CBA negotiations are stalled, free agency is frozen, and the league is showcasing expansion while player fight for their share. Here’s what’s really happening behind the schedule release.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":3437,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"The #WNBA just released its most ambitious schedule ever--44 games, international expansion, special venues--right in the middle of stalled CBA negotiations.\n\nThe league says logistics. The timing says something else. Here's what's really happening.","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[10],"tags":[226,225,102],"class_list":["post-3436","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-wnba","tag-cathy-engelbert","tag-cba","tag-washington-mystics"],"aioseo_notices":[],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/dbltakesports.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/CBA-e1769095784526.jpeg","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"post_mailing_queue_ids":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/dbltakesports.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3436","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/dbltakesports.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/dbltakesports.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dbltakesports.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dbltakesports.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3436"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/dbltakesports.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3436\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3439,"href":"https:\/\/dbltakesports.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3436\/revisions\/3439"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dbltakesports.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/3437"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/dbltakesports.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3436"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dbltakesports.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3436"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dbltakesports.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3436"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}