New York, NY – Negotiations between the WNBA and the WNBA Players Association (WNBPA) stretched well into Wednesday morning, going past midnight, as a league-imposed deadline for a new collective bargaining agreement (CBA) came, and went.

The sides convened at a midtown Manhattan hotel on Tuesday evening, beginning discussions shortly after 5:00 p.m. Eastern and continuing past 2:00 a.m. Wednesday, according to reports.

Key Issues Remain

The central point of contention remains how to share the enormous amount of new money flooding into the WNBA, as stated by Front Office Sports. Even as the league has conceded to sharing a percentage of revenue with players, disagreements persist regarding the calculation of that revenue and the specific percentage allocated to players.

The WNBA had communicated a deadline of March 10th to ensure the season would start on time, but history suggests such deadlines are often adjusted during final negotiations.

Who Was Present?

Key figures from both sides were present at the negotiations. Representing the players union were Breanna Stewart, Alysha Clark, Nneka Ogwumike, and Bri Turner, alongside legal counsel and administrators. Liberty owner Clara Wu Tsai also attended on behalf of the league.

Recent Developments

Last week, two of the WNBA’s biggest stars called for a marathon labor negotiation to resolve the outstanding issues. The league and the WNBPA exchanged three CBA proposals in March alone, including two over the weekend, though details of the most recent offers have not been publicly released.

The 2026 WNBA season is currently scheduled to tip off on May 8th, leaving limited time to finalize a deal, address expansion drafts for Toronto and Portland, and complete free agency and the college draft.