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The 2026 WNBA season could be historic, but it won’t be on time, or at all, if a new collective bargaining agreement isn’t reached between the league and the players.
The WNBA set a March 10 deadline to agree to a new pact during its latest meeting with the Women’s National Basketball Players’ Association (WNBPA), so as not to disrupt the start of the 2026 season, which begins on May 8. But it has not been possible to reach a framework for an agreement that both sides agree on, which has been the case for some time.
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 by the proposed deadline.
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New York Liberty forward Breanna Stewart (30) warms up prior to game two of round one of the 2025 WNBA Playoffs at the Barclays Center on Sept. 17, 2025. (Wendell Cruz/Imagn Images)
“I don’t know,” Stewart told Pakinomist Digital after a long, thoughtful pause. “I don’t know if a deal will be made by March 10. Part of me wants to say yes, but part of me is like, ‘The negotiations have been really slow back and forth.’ There has to be some serious movement within the next week. Literally, I don’t know.”
The latest move was the WNBA sending a counterproposal to the players union, where good things like paying housing for all players for the upcoming season are in play.
However, Stewart revealed the biggest roadblock in negotiations, and that shouldn’t come as a surprise given the tension between the league and the players this past season.
“The one thing is what we really can’t agree on, and that’s the revenue sharing model,” Stewart said.
Revenue sharing and increased player salaries are the two biggest areas surrounding these negotiations. While Stewart didn’t go into specific dollar amounts, she said why both sides don’t see eye to eye right now on how revenue sharing is being negotiated.
“The PA is asking for the gross, and the league, the WNBA, is asking to deal with an SBI, which is a shared basketball revenue where you negotiate how much money goes into that pool and it’s shared with the players,” she explained. “That’s what’s problematic, that’s the part where every time we get to those conversations, we’re never on the same page.”
New York Liberty forward Breanna Stewart (30) drives to the basket against Chicago Sky forward Michaela Onyenwere (12) in 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 receipts, which is revenue before expenses, over the course of the CBA. The union had previously asked for more than 30% of the turnover. But the league said that model would cause “hundreds of millions of dollars in losses for our teams.”
To Stewart’s point, the WNBA’s proposal would give players more than 70% of net revenue — the profit after expenses is the 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 the players want what they feel they deserve, even going so far as to wear “Pay Us What You Owe Us” jerseys during warmups at the WNBA All-Star Game. Indiana Fever star Caitlin Clark was among them, and she said in December that these current CBA negotiations are the “biggest moment in league history.” Many players feel the same.
So while players like Stewart are standing firm, the Liberty star also knows the clock is much closer to midnight now.
It also feels imperative for women’s basketball to get things done for the game’s momentum in terms of exposure, engagement and viewership across the board. The 2025 WNBA season was a record with a total of 2.5 million fans attending over 226 games, and that was with just 13 teams.
ESPN also revealed that across 25 regular season games, the WNBA on the ESPN networks averaged 1.3 million viewers, up 6% year-over-year. The postseason drew 1.2 million viewers, marking the most-watched WNBA postseason on the ESPN networks to date.
And there’s also the 11-year, $2.2 billion media rights deal the WNBA secured with Disney (ESPN/ABC), Prime Video and NBCUniversal, which includes the USA Network.
New York Liberty’s Breanna Stewart dribbles the ball upcourt 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 a historic one if we are able to have it,” Stewart added. “I think from a number of different things — having a record-breaking TV deal finally in place. Having two more teams with Portland and Toronto added to the WNBA. It’s going to be interesting to see if free agency happens quickly, how much movement there will be. You’re going to see players get a lot more money than they’ve ever had in the WNBA before.
“It’s getting to the point now where both sides really have to be able to adjust and adjust to each other.”
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