WNBA, players union conclude overnight meeting without new CBA

A meeting between WNBA representatives and the players association ended early Wednesday morning without a deal on a new collective bargaining agreement, multiple outlets reported.

The meeting, held at a ​New York hotel, began at 5 p.m. Tuesday and ended ‌about 12 hours later, ESPN reported. League officials had set March 10 as the deadline for a new CBA agreement to avoid the loss of regular-season games.

The league and the players have been at a standstill for months, with revenue sharing ‌and ​housing among the key issues. The regular ⁠season is scheduled to begin ⁠May 8.

“It’s complex,” WNBA commissioner Cathy Englebert told reporters outside the hotel after 5 a.m. “We’re working towards a win-win deal like we’ve been saying, a transformational deal for these players that balances all ​the things we’ve been trying to balance with continued investment by our owners. So we’re working hard towards that, and we still ⁠have work to do.”

Women’s National Basketball Players ⁠Association executive director Terri Jackson said “conversations are continuing, and ​they need to be,” ESPN reported.

“Every meeting is a positive meeting,” Jackson ​said, per ESPN. “Seriously, every meeting is a positive meeting. The ‌fact that we scheduled meetings, that we offer dates to schedule meetings that we actually get together, get in the room. I think that’s positive. It’s taking as long as it’s taking. But you know, ⁠that’s what it needs to be.”

The league has not revealed whether it has flexibility to start the season on time with the deadline passed.

The WNBA ⁠draft is scheduled for ‌April 13, with training camps opening six days ⁠later. The league also must hold a free ​agency period, ‌an expansion draft with the Toronto Tempo and ​Portland Fire ⁠set to begin play this upcoming season, as well as preseason games.

The players have been without a collective bargaining agreement since they opted out of their existing agreement in October 2024, a year before its Oct. 31, 2025, expiration, with hopes of having a new deal in place last ​fall.

–Field Level Media