WNBA and WNBPA Resume CBA Negotiations: Agreement Close?

Critical Negotiations in the WNBA: Upcoming Key Meeting for the Future of the League

The WNBA and the WNBPA are preparing for a crucial meeting in New York on Monday, a significant step after weeks of stagnation in negotiations for a new collective bargaining agreement. With the 2026 season less than 100 days away, the pressure is mounting to reach an agreement. The meeting will be attended by staff and union leaders, as well as league representatives, including the labor relations committee and team owners. Confirmed attendees include members of the WNBPA executive committee, such as Kelsey Plum, Napheesa Collier, and Nneka Ogwumike.

I think we will learn a lot from this meeting. I think everyone understands what’s at stake, in terms of time.

Kelsey Plum

Plum, who is also the first vice president of the players’ union, estimates that there has not been an in-person meeting between the league and the players since last fall’s WNBA playoffs.

At the end of the day, we are human beings. I think face-to-face conversation helps a lot. I’m excited about the opportunity to be there in person with other players who are really involved in this, on the [executive committee] and those things, and of course, the league making the commitment to be there.

Kelsey Plum

Breanna Stewart, WNBPA vice president, expressed similar sentiments earlier this month. Fifteen months after the WNBPA chose not to renew the last collective bargaining agreement, the two sides remain distant in defining a new revenue sharing system, among other key issues for the agreement. The league announced its 2026 schedule last week. Even after reaching an agreement, the league will need to conduct a two-team expansion draft and an unprecedented free agency period. The WNBA draft is scheduled for April 13. Although smaller meetings have taken place between staff, the two sides have not met for a full negotiation session this month. The WNBPA submitted a proposal a month ago to which the league has yet to respond.

I think the main thing is to sit down and understand the relationship and the conversation. Let’s be real: when we play telephone with people in our own lives, a lot of times things can get scattered, right? So being able to sit down face-to-face and say ‘this is how I feel, this is how you feel, let’s see what we can do from there’.

Kelsey Plum