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WNBA CBA negotiations are at a standstill
The CBA deadline is here, and it looks like we're stuck where we were last time. PLUS, LSU has hit a rough patch and a Sabrina Ionescu update.
Brian Fleurantin & Black Rosie
January 09, 2026
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💰 MONEY MOVES
NO DEAL… YET.
Cathy Engelbert.
We’re back in a familiar situation, but will the game go to another overtime?
January 9 marks the deadline of the most recent extension of CBA talks between the WNBA and WNBPA. There remains a lot of critical issues left to address such as the revenue share, retirement benefits, average salary, etc. With the deadline fast approaching, will there be a last-minute agreement before the buzzer?
No.
As Breanna Stewart noted, the option to strike is certainly there, although they don’t plan to right now. Although an agreement likely won’t be reached before this deadline, there is optimism that an agreement will be reached.
"I do think a deal’s gonna get done,” Napheesa Collier said during Unrivaled Opening Night. “But we’re standing firm in what we believe in. We’re not gonna back down. We can’t take less. The sport has just grown too much. It would be a disservice to the people who came before us, to the work that we’ve put in to take less than what we’re owed."
CBA negotiations have been a frustrating, yet revealing saga. Throughout the process, we’ve seen the league office disrespect and belittle players. It’s been shocking to watch from the outside, and I can only imagine how it feels to be on the receiving end of it. The disrespect hasn’t gone unnoticed, either.
“In terms of where the negotiations are, it's just been very upsetting and disappointing. The tone of the negotiations coming from the league. It's very dismissive, very disrespectful. You know, they've said over and over again that the players don't understand the business, and for them to put a blanket statement like that over players who ... clearly, we do,” Collier told ESPN’s Katie Barnes.
“We are very smart, educated women. We know what we're asking for. We know that it's not too much, like they're saying. So that's been very disappointing to have that be the tone of the conversations when we are in such a transformational era.”
As we wait for signs of progress, the PA has been putting some contingency plans in place.
We’ve got a long way to go before a deal is reached, and we’ll see where the road takes us next.
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