New York — The Women’s National Basketball Association and the Women’s National Basketball Players Association reached a tentative verbal agreement on a new collective bargaining agreement early Wednesday morning following more than 100 hours of intensive negotiations, securing the start of the league’s 30th season as scheduled. Reports from ESPN, CBS Sports, Front Office Sports, Just Women’s Sports, Swish Appeal, and High Post Hoops confirm the breakthrough came after marathon bargaining sessions that began more than a week ago. Each of the bullet points immediately below have been confirmed by at least four of the six respected sources we curated on this story.
• The 2026 WNBA season will tip off as scheduled on May 8, 2026, marking the league’s 30th anniversary season, with training camps set to open on April 19, 2026.
• The 2026 salary cap will reach $7 million, representing nearly a 500% increase from the $1.5 million cap in 2025.
• Average player salaries will rise to approximately $600,000, up from $120,000 in 2025, while minimum salaries will exceed $300,000, up from $66,079.
• The league’s supermax salary will start at $1.4 million in 2026, nearly six times the $249,244 maximum under the previous agreement.
• The seven-year agreement includes an opt-out clause after year six and establishes an average revenue share of nearly 20% for players.
• The 2026 WNBA Draft will proceed as scheduled on April 13, 2026.
• The tentative agreement must be ratified by both the WNBA Board of Governors and the WNBPA player membership before taking full effect.
Additional Details Reported
The agreement was reached in the early morning hours Wednesday at the Langham Hotel in Manhattan after eight consecutive days of in-person negotiations, with both sides celebrating with a champagne toast shortly before 3 a.m. ET according to multiple reports.
WNBPA president Nneka Ogwumike, who was present for the entirety of the marathon negotiations, emphasized the transformative nature of the deal for current and future players. “For 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,” Ogwumike said. “It 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.”
WNBA commissioner Cathy Engelbert similarly praised the outcome, describing the agreement as “a fair win-win deal for all.” Engelbert confirmed that training camp will not be delayed and that the league will proceed with its full slate of offseason activities.
WNBPA vice president Breanna Stewart, who also attended all eight days of negotiations, called the deal “transformational” and noted it would create a system where players receive what they deserve both on and off the court.
The negotiations stretched across more than 17 months after players opted out of the previous collective bargaining agreement in October 2024. The process included multiple deadline extensions and a period of status quo beginning in January 2026 before the final push yielded Wednesday’s agreement.
Revenue sharing emerged as the central sticking point throughout the lengthy negotiation process. The previous 2020 CBA featured a salary cap that increased by just 3% annually and a revenue-sharing system that proved difficult to trigger due to pandemic-impacted seasons and cumulative targets.
Before the season can begin, the league must complete several key offseason milestones including expansion drafts for the incoming Portland Fire and Toronto Tempo, a compressed free agency period, and the collegiate draft.
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