The March 10 deadline for a new WNBA Collective Bargaining Agreement has come and gone. Negotiators hunkered down in a midtown Manhattan hotel for 12 hours, finally emerging at 5 a.m. Wednesday. This isn't just a standard labor dispute between owners and athletes. It's more volatile than that. The 2026 schedule is in jeopardy, and the fracture is coming from inside the players' union itself.
In December, the WNBPA authorized a strike. Now, that unity is starting to dissolve.
Players with massive endorsements and off-court wealth are publicly deflating the union’s leverage. As we mentioned in an earlier article, Kelsey Plum, the WNBPA first vice president, recently called a strike "the worst thing for both sides." Breanna Stewart agreed, urging others to see the revenue-sharing offer as a win. Behind the scenes, the tension is even higher. Plum and Stewart reportedly sent a letter to Executive Director Terri Jackson, frustrated by a lack of transparency. They want a seat at the table. They aren’t alone; a group of agents, backed by stars like Brittney Griner, is now demanding the right to review league proposals under NDAs.
But the rank-and-file are holding the line. During a recent meeting, more than half of the player leadership reaffirmed their commitment to walk out. Alysha Clark took to Threads to remind everyone: a strike is still very much on the table.
While the union fights itself, basketball operations have hit a wall. Everything has stopped.
General managers are flying blind. They have an offseason that includes an expansion draft for Portland and Toronto, a massive free agency cycle, and the April 13 draft. Yet they have no salary cap numbers. No "core" player rules. No protection limits. Many GMs believe teams may only be allowed to protect five players, down from six during the Golden State expansion. But at this point, it’s all speculation. One GM admitted their team stopped expansion prep entirely. Why run mock drafts when every variable is a question mark?
The deadlock is purely financial. The WNBA wants an eight-year deal to lock in predictable costs. The union has already dropped its gross revenue demand from 40% to 26%. The league hasn't budged. They offered a tiny cap bump from $5.65 million to $5.75 million, and are sticking to a "70% of net revenue" split. The union’s math says that’s a trap, equating to less than 15% of gross revenue.
To break the union, the league is getting surgical.
They’ve introduced a "star-tier" proposal. This structure fast-tracks MVPs and All-WNBA selections to max and supermax contracts. Under these rules, Caitlin Clark could hit a standard max by 2027. A'ja Wilson would have hit a supermax by year four. This new supermax would eat up 20% of a team’s entire cap.
The strategy is transparent: win over the top earners with individual gains while the rest of the league holds out for a better percentage of the whole pie.
Training camps are set for April 19. Tip-off is May 8. The clock is screaming. The 2026 season is teetering, not just because the league and players can't agree, but because the union can't decide who it’s fighting for.