With the collective bargaining agreement (CBA) expiring Friday, Oct. 31, the WNBA and Women’s National Basketball Player’s Association (WNBPA) have reportedly agreed to a 30-day extension.
ESPN and the Athletic reported Thursday that the two sides have agreed to extend the current CBA until Nov. 30 to allow more time for an agreement to be reached without a work stoppage which could result in a lockout by the owners or a strike by the players.
It’s a path that WNBA commissioner Cathy Englebert alluded to earlier this month during her annual press conference before the 2025 WNBA Finals, saying, ‘We have extended deadlines in the past.’
The league and players association previously agreed to a 60-day extension in 2019, three days before the last CBA was set to expire on Oct. 31, 2019. A new deal was subsequently reached on the current CBA on Jan. 14, 2020 and singed into effect three days later on Jan. 17, 2020.
‘Last time, when I was only a couple days on the job, we got to an extension and got a deal done that was progressive at the time,’ said Engelbert, who took over as WNBA commissioner in July 2019. ‘So again, I feel confident that we can get a deal done, but if not, I think we could do an extension.’
The WNBA and players association are trying to find compromise on revenue sharing and pay structure. The players are seeking a revenue-sharing model that ensures their salaries grow with the league, while the WNBA has allegedly offered a fixed salary system and capped revenue-sharing plan.
Negotiations reached a boiling point this week when the sides released competing statements about who was at fault for the impasse. The WNBPA alleged the league offered ‘more of the same’ in their latest proposal while the WNBA accused the players association of ‘disseminating public misinformation.’
The 30-day extension will likely impact the 2026 WNBA draft lottery, which is typically held before the end of the calendar year. The 2025 draft lottery was held Nov. 17, 2024 and the 2024 edition took place on Dec. 10, 2023. The league must also squeeze in expansion drafts for the Toronto Tempo and Portland Fire before the year ends, both are contingent on a new CBA.
‘Obviously we need to get a collective bargaining agreement done before we will probably have those expansion drafts, as well as the draft lottery,’ Engelbert said on Oct. 3. ‘So those are the two things we usually do before the calendar year end, leading into the free agency and ultimately the draft in the spring.’
The Tempo noted on their team website that their expansion draft will be held in December 2025, but the format and process must be negotiated in the new CBA. That leaves the Tempo and Fire in limbo, as they are set to join the league as the 14th and 15th franchises in 2026. The expansion draft must be held before free agency, which is expected to start in January barring any setbacks.
Engelbert said the league gave general managers ‘some guidance’ on what to expect for the expansion draft, saying the process will be ‘something similar’ to Golden State Valkyries’ expansion draft last year.
When Golden State joined the league as the 13th franchise in 2025, the expansion draft was held on Dec. 6, 2024. Each team designated six ‘protected players’ who were ineligible for selection. The Valkyries went on to select 11 players, including Kayla Thornton from the New York Liberty and Veronica Burton from the Connecticut Sun.
There will be more expansion drafts in the future. The league is set to expand to 18 teams by 2030 with the additions of Cleveland (2028), Detroit (2029) and Philadelphia (2030), who each paid a $250 million expansion fee to join the league.
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