NEWNow you can listen to Pak Gazette articles!
The 2026 WNBA season could be historic, but it won’t start on time, or at all, if a new collective bargaining agreement is not agreed upon between the league and the players.
The WNBA set a deadline of March 10 to agree to a new pact during its most recent meeting with the National Basketball Players Association (WNBPA), so as not to interrupt the start of the 2026 season, which begins on May 8. But a framework for a deal that both sides agree to, as has been the case for quite some time, has not been reached.
Breanna Stewart, the WNBA superstar who plays for the New York Liberty and serves as vice president of the WNBPA, knows both sides want the season to happen. But she is not sure a deal will be reached before the proposed deadline.
CLICK HERE FOR MORE SPORTS COVERAGE ON PakGazette.Com
New York Liberty forward Breanna Stewart (30) warms up before game two of the first round of the 2025 WNBA Playoffs at Barclays Center on Sept. 17, 2025. (Wendell Cruz/Image Images)
“I don’t know,” Stewart told Pak Gazette Digital after a long, thoughtful pause. “I don’t know if a deal will be done before March 10. Part of me wants to say yes, but another part of me says, ‘Negotiations have been very slow, going back and forth.’ There needs to be some serious movement in the next week. I literally don’t know.”
The latest move was that the WNBA sent a counterproposal to the players’ union where good things are at stake, such as paying for housing for all players for the next season.
However, Stewart revealed the biggest hurdle in the negotiations, and it shouldn’t be a surprise considering the tension between the league and the players last season.
“The only thing we can’t really agree on is the revenue sharing model,” Stewart said.
Revenue sharing and increasing player salaries are the two most important areas surrounding these negotiations. While Stewart didn’t go into specific dollar amounts, he did say why both sides don’t agree right now on how revenue sharing is being negotiated.
“The PA is asking for gross revenue and the league, the WNBA, is asking to negotiate an SBI, which is a shared basketball revenue, where you negotiate how much money goes into that fund and is shared with the players,” he explained. “That’s the sticking point, that’s the part where every time we get into those conversations, we’re never on the same side.”
New York Liberty forward Breanna Stewart (30) drives to the basket against Chicago Sky forward Michaela Onyenwere (12) during the first half at Wintrust Arena on Sept. 11, 2025. (Kamil Krzaczynski/Imagn Images)
In its offer to the league last week, the players’ union offered an average of 27.5% of the WNBA’s gross revenue, which is revenue before expenses, over the course of the collective bargaining agreement. The union had previously requested more than 30% of the revenue. But the league said that model would cause “hundreds of millions of dollars in losses for our teams.”
According to Stewart, the WNBA proposal would give players more than 70% of net revenues; profits after expenses would be key. And those expenses would be upgraded facilities, charter flights, five-star hotels and more for the teams.
It’s been clear since last year that players want what they feel they deserve, going so far as to wear T-shirts that say “Pay us what you owe us” during warmups at the WNBA All-Star Game. Indiana Fever star Caitlin Clark was among them, saying in December that these current CBA negotiations are the league’s “biggest moment in history.” Many players feel the same.
So while players like Stewart hold firm, the Liberty star also knows the clock is getting that much closer to midnight.
It also seems imperative that women’s basketball gets things done for the sake of the game’s momentum in terms of exposure, engagement and overall viewership. The 2025 WNBA season broke records with a total of 2.5 million fans attending more than 226 games, and that was just with 13 teams.
ESPN also revealed that, through 25 regular season games, the WNBA on ESPN networks averaged 1.3 million viewers, up 6% year over year. The postseason had 1.2 million viewers, making it the most watched WNBA postseason on ESPN networks to date.
And then there’s the 11-year, $2.2 billion media rights deal the WNBA secured with Disney (ESPN/ABC), Prime Video and NBCUniversal, which includes USA Network.
Breanna Stewart of the New York Liberty dribbles the ball up the court during the second half of the game against the Chicago Sky at Wintrust Arena on September 11, 2025 in Chicago, Illinois. (Michael Hirschuber/Getty Images)
“The 2026 season will be historic if we can have it,” Stewart added. “I think for a number of different things: Having a record-breaking TV deal finally coming to an end. Having two more teams with Portland and Toronto added to the WNBA. It’ll be interesting to see if free agency happens quickly, how much movement there will be. You’ll see players getting a lot more money than ever before in the WNBA.
“We’re getting to the point where both sides really need to be able to adjust and adapt to each other.”
Related article
