Historic CBA Deal Reached as $5 Million Supermax Salary Transforms

9 unique / 10 total | Updated 8h ago | Created 1d ago

The WNBA, the league and its players' union reached an agreement in principle on a transformational new collective bargaining agreement early Wednesday morning to stave off what had become a looming lockout less than two months before the start of 2026.

Key Points

1

The WNBA has verbally agreed to a transformative Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA) with over $100 hours of negotiations.
2

Key financial terms include raising the salary cap from approximately $7 million and introducing maximum salaries exceeding $3.5-4M, though specific figures vary slightly across reports ($629k-$8m).
3

The deal aims to avoid a lockout less than two months before the 2026 season start.
4

Revenue sharing was identified as one of several central points that were settled during negotiations.

Developments

Mar 19, 03:02 WNBA and WNBPA reached a verbal agreement on the new CBA early Wednesday morning after more than 17 months since players opted out.

Mar 18, 20:25 (reported) League announced they have verbally agreed to terms including maximum salaries over $3.4M and minimums under the new CBA structure per ESPN's Shams Charania.

Mar 18, 06:25 (reported) Sources reported a salary cap surge from roughly $7 million to potentially higher figures with average salaries jumping significantly over the previous deal terms per NBC News and Profootballnetwork.

Mar 18, 06:23 (reported) The WNBA will have its first 'million dollar players' after reaching a preliminary agreement in principle on March 17-early morning per Reviewjournal and NYTimes.

WNBA Agrees to Landmark CBA: $1.4 Million Supermax Transforms League Salary Structure

Profootballnetwork Saumya Khanduja 13h ago

WNBA and players reached a historic deal. Here's what needs to happen next

Los Angeles Times Los Angeles Times 13h ago

After over 100 hours of negotiations in New York City involving all WNBA franchises (including new team expansions), league officials reached a multi-year collective bargaining agreement. The deal establishes significantly higher financial terms for players and teams by increasing the salary cap from $7 million to nearly double that figure, raising average player salaries fivefold while implementing revenue sharing based on roughly 20% of total league income starting with training camp in April.

The WNBA and players' union have a verbal agreement on a new CBA:

Defector Defector 19h ago

The WNBA and its player's association reached a verbal agreement on new collective bargaining terms that include maximum salaries exceeding $1 million, minimums above $300k, and an initial salary cap of $7.5 million—a significant increase from the previous deal where players opted out in October 2024 due to insufficient revenue sharing offers based only on net income rather than gross revenues as proposed by unions seeking nearly a quarter share over time

The WNBA and its players' union reach an agreement in principle on a transformational new collective bargaining agreement.

NBC News NBC News 23h ago

The WNBA reached an agreement on its new collective bargaining deal featuring significantly increased financial terms for players. This includes starting salaries around $600k per player with minimum contracts above $300,000 while tying compensation to 2% of gross revenue over the contract's life and raising average salary fourfold from last season.

WNBA, players’ union reach verbal agreement on CBA to avoid lockout

Amny Joe Pantorno 1d ago

The WNBA reached a verbal early Wednesday morning to avoid an impending lockout before its May start. The new collective bargaining agreement will tie player salaries to revenue and significantly increase minimum pay from $66k in 2025, though the deal requires formalization into term sheets for final approval by both parties' boards of governors or players associations respectively