The CBA terms have yet to be agreed upon, causing major disruptions to the offseason proceedings. The new WNBA season is only about 3 months away, and even the expansion draft rules have not been communicated to the incoming franchises, Toronto and Portland. And while those concerns continue to boil over the professional league, the ripple effects have reached the NCAA as well, and insiders are starting to flag it.

The Athletic staff writer Sabreena Merchant has highlighted how the free agency delay could impact the viewership of college basketball, with the possibility of the two colliding during March Madness.

Speaking on the No Offseason podcast, she said, “We’re looking at the calendar here, or if a deal starts to get done early March, which seems like the best possible scenario considering less than a month away from that particular date, and a lot of things have to get ironed out before then. I don’t see how this is beneficial for the WNBA to go up against the biggest stages in college basketball.

“Like most women’s basketball fans, I think, are fans of both. But at the time, during March, they focused their attention on college basketball as they naturally should because that is when the most exciting things are happening in college basketball. And to have a free agency period, which could have been like the most exciting thing in the WNBA, because, like you said, more than 100 unrestricted free agents. All of these stars are free agents.”

March Madness is where the NCAA Tournament culminates, and in many cases, fans get to see top seeds face each other for the first time because of differing regular-season schedules.

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The women’s March Madness tournament wraps up during the first weekend of April every year, giving players about 8-9 days if they make it to the Final Four between those games and the WNBA Draft. Players who are eligible for the draft and still have NCAA eligibility left have 48 hours after their last game in those final rounds to decide if they will really go for the WNBA draft.

Now, if you think about it, that’s already a condensed window for players, and also for teams trying to figure out who is available to draft. Once through with the draft, the players have a week until training camp starts, using that time to move out of their college accommodations and into their new WNBA market.

While acclimating to the team is one thing, there is also an entire conversation about how much NCAA March Madness lends to WNBA marketing. If you play with that, then there could be serious consequences on the business end of the league as well. After all, we saw how March Madness moments boosted players like Caitlin Clark and Paige Bueckers into the stardom they hold now, and the WNBA benefits from that, too.

Introducing changes to this might make it hard for fans to follow WNBA teams in training camp or buy tickets in advance, given that their favorite college stars would not know for certain which WNBA teams they will be playing for until after the season starts.

These looming concerns surface as the CBA negotiations carry on.

Free agency is also at a standstill, with over 100 WNBA players left without a contract for the 2026 season. The Monday meeting also ended without a resolution on the CBA terms, as the WNBA and WNBPA both maintain their respective stances on fairer terms, with nothing concrete.

If new CBA terms are finalized this month, free agents could begin signing new contracts in or around March, driven by the prospect of increased financial incentives that would expand players’ options.

WNBA submits new CBA proposal

The WNBPA has been public about the WNBA’s lack of response to their proposal submitted in late December. The players’ association stated that they had dialed down their terms in an attempt to achieve a quick resolution for the CBA terms. However, the WNBA had not responded to it, with reports suggesting that the governing body found the terms still far from a satisfactory range.

The Monday meeting also featured no concrete rebuttal or proposal from the WNBA representatives, with the attendees lamenting the delays the CBA negotiations are causing and pointing the finger towards the governing body. WNBPA president Nneka Ogwumike clarified that the players are keen to get things sorted fast and play the 2026 season, with revenue sharing the primary bone of contention for them.

However, the WNBA has reportedly submitted a proposal on February 6 following a promise made in the Monday meeting. It will be interesting to see what the details are and how far the two bodies are from coming to an agreement regarding revenue share.

The season is scheduled to start in early May, and any further delays could have serious implications for the 2026 WNBA schedule. Do you think a solution will be reached by then? Let us know in the comments.