Once the WNBA CBA is agreed upon, will it make the league worse? That’s what some fans think after a national reporter laid out the future of the financial system of the league. Others think it would balance out the league. On the college basketball side, we have two stars returning from ACL injuries. Dawn Staley has confirmed Chloe Kitts’ return to the Gamecocks, while USC has set a possible comeback date for Juju Watkins.

Chloe Kitts Set For A South Carolina Return After ACL Tear 

Dawn Staley and South Carolina lost Chloe Kitts to an ACL tear just before the season began. “We hate this first for Chloe, who has worked incredibly hard to become the best version of herself on the court this season,” South Carolina head coach Dawn Staley had said. After her surgery, she has continued with the team in a supporting role. She has been offering her guidance and experience while keeping up with the tactical evolution. 

The South Carolina coach has now confirmed that Kitts will be returning next season. “Chloe will come back next year. I think she said that on Instagram. As far as I know, the transfer portal isn’t open right now,” Staley said. The coach rightly pointed out that Kitts could leave via transfer portal but it looks unlikely. Coming off an ACL tear, the challenges of changing teams will be even more difficult to face. In addition, South Carolina’s 2026-27 squad is looking better day by day. 

“Ashlyn took the year off. She’ll come back when the year is up. Sometime in May,” Staley said. Staley also confirmed that the program is trying to get an extension for Madina Okot, who played her first 2 years back in Kenya. As Chloe Kitts returns from her ACL tear, Juju Watkins is gearing up to do the same. 

JuJu Watkins ‘Likely’ On-Court Return Date Set 

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Juju Watkins has been sitting on the sidelines with an ACL tear since being carried off the court just five minutes into USC’s 96-59 second-round win in the NCAA tournament. In December last year, Watkins said she’s “able to pick up the ball a bit more,” including doing some individual shooting and handling drills. She even attended Team USA basketball camp back in December to grow her IQ and leadership abilities. “Whatever I can do, I am trying to maximize that,” Watkins said. And it seems her on-court return date for USC has been set.

The Trojans announced that they would start the 2026-27 season against UNLV at the 18000-strong T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas on November 2. The game will be a part of the prestigious Naismith Hall of Fame Series Opening Night. “On the women’s side, the Trojans will take on hometown UNLV Lady Rebels basketball in what is expected to mark the return of JuJu Watkins, the 2024-25 consensus National Player of the Year, following her recovery from a knee injury,” the announcement mentioned.

Reporter Talia Goodman also highlighted how important the game was. “This matchup will feature the likely return of JuJu Watkins. Should be a fun one,” She wrote. However, it is only a ‘likely’ scenario since ACL recovery is difficult to predict. 

Fans Intrigued At WNBA’s Financial Future

The CBA situation is pretty much still up in the air. Sophie Cunningham even agreed that she doesn’t know whether the WNBA season will happen. The league has given the date of March 10 as the final date to agree to the CBA in order to have the season on a regular timeline. As we head towards the possible conclusion, Annie Costabile laid out the possible financial ecosystem of the league after the dust settles.

“The players have proposed a salary cap of just under $9.5 million,” FOS reported, while the league is standing its ground on $5.65 million as its ideal number. The WNBPA is ready to compromise on the revenue sharing to some extent (27.5% of gross revenue). However, it does not seem to be 15% of the total revenue.

“Considering the league’s numbers, The supermax would account for 20% of the salary cap, and the standard max—roughly $988,750—would take up 17.5%,” FOS wrote. The supermax accounted for 16.5% of the 2025 salary cap. The average salary will rise from $125,000 to $475,000, a 3.8x increase. While the salary cap is increasing from $1.5 million to $5.65 million. However, this increase irked a few fans, while some think it’s a positive change.

“These numbers are insane, completely unworkable,” wrote a fan. So, the problem is the supermax of $1.1 million could make up one-fifth of the total cap. A couple of rookie contracts means approximately another million and the teams are left to fill their teams with below-average per-player wages. That is assuming the team doesn’t have any more max contracts. However, that also means the talent will be more spread out across the WNBA.

“That’s no different from the NBA. You can’t fit three supermax players on the same team in the NBA for that purpose,” wrote another fan. “No more super teams in this system. It is good for the WNBA to separate franchise players. No one will trade first-round picks too,” chipped in another. In the NBA, the supermax can be 35% of the total salary cap, which is much higher than the 20% number in the WNBA. This kind of system ensures the competitiveness in the league, giving each team the opportunity to get the best talent.