The WNBA and the players’ union have been in constant talks ever since both sides agreed to extend the current CBA by 30 days back in late October. Sunday night was supposed to be the final deadline, the moment everyone had circled. But instead of pushing the league toward a lockout, the WNBPA arrived with a proposal to extend negotiations even further.

What is the WNBPA Proposal on WNBA ahead of the Deadline?

As first reported by Annie Costabile, the WNBPA has put forward a proposal for a six-week extension to the current CBA deadline, sending a clear message in a statement to Front Office Sports.

“We have proposed a six-week extension. We expect substantive movement from the league within this window,” the union said.

The WNBA also proposed a 21-day extension in hopes of finally wrapping up the CBA negotiations that have been stuck in limbo for months. This is the first time both sides have put an extension proposal on the table, a change from the last deadline, when only the league offered one, and the players’ union was more than happy to accept it, but even that extra time couldn’t get them to the finish line.

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Now, with both agreeing that more time is needed, there’s hope this window will finally lead to real progress.

Did WNBA, WNBPA agree to extend the current CBA Negotiations?

Both parties have now agreed to take an extension until January 9th as they continue working toward a final CBA resolution.

The statement read: “The WNBA and WNBPA have agreed to extend the current collective bargaining agreement through January 9, 2026, with either party having the option to terminate the extension with 48 hours’ advance notice. The WNBA and WNBPA are continuing to work toward a new agreement.”

Why Are Negotiations Happening Now?

According to Front Office Sports, the WNBA did present a proposal that featured a maximum player salary of over $1 million,a historic figure for a league that operated with a $1.5 million team salary cap this past season. However, multiple sources indicated that the number was misleading.

While the league’s max salary could climb above $1.1 million with revenue sharing factored in, the actual supermax base salary would still sit in the high six figures. Reports also noted that the league minimum would increase to over $220,000, with the average salary rising past $460,000. But that still isn’t what the union is fighting for.

The current CBA, which players opted out of last October, technically includes a revenue-sharing system, but it never really had a chance to work. Players were supposed to earn a percentage of “excess revenue” once the league hit certain financial targets. But they were never able to get them. Why?

Those targets were cumulative starting from the 2020 season… the same year COVID shut everything down. As a result, revenue sharing was never triggered, and instead of salaries growing with the league’s rising popularity, the cap crawled up at a flat 3% each year.

So unless both sides can finally agree on a revenue-sharing model that actually satisfies the union, these talks are going to drag on. And if no new CBA is in place by January 9, there’s a very real chance the league could be headed toward a lockout. And that’s a situation nobody wants to see.