In the words of Breanna Stewart, if finally resolving the CBA dispute means sitting in a room for hours and hours at a time, then that is exactly what should be done. Well, the WNBA and the WNBPA did just that, twelve hours, to be precise, at the Langham Hotel in Manhattan recently. And yet, no deal was done. At this point, maybe days and days is what it will take.

But then again, even months have not been enough. The CBA back-and-forth has now dragged on for months. And every single meeting in that period has ended without a common ground. Perhaps fans should not be too surprised that this meeting, the last attempt to salvage the league’s March 10th deadline, ended just like every other one before it.

So what happens next? A large chunk of the league is heading into free agency, which already makes this a crucial stretch for teams across the Women’s National Basketball Association. While front offices can still work under the current agreement for now, the ongoing negotiations with the Women’s National Basketball Players Association are creating a cloud of uncertainty around the league’s immediate future.

Expansion teams like the Portland Fire and the Toronto Tempo are also waiting to move forward with their roster plans. And with the WNBA Draft scheduled for April 13, the clock is ticking for the league to find some clarity before the next big milestone on the calendar.

And if negotiations continue to drag on, the consequences could escalate even further. The players have already authorized a strike vote, meaning they could refuse to report when training camps open on April 19. Even worse, league owners could resort to a lockout, which would halt all basketball activities until there is an agreement.

For fans, this avalanche of uncertainty is beyond frustrating. But according to League Commissioner Cathy Engelbert and Union Director Terri Carmichael, there appears to be no cause for panic just yet. Both stayed in that room for the full twelve hours, and their message coming out was not one of collapse. 

Engelbert has described the ongoing work as building toward a “win-win” transformational deal. Terri went as far as saying discussions are “going in the right direction” and that meetings are continuing. Cold comfort for a fanbase bracing for the worst, but comfort nonetheless.

“Why Start Talks at 5 pm?” Fans Question Deadline Drama

Watching that hope dissolve by sunrise made the disappointment hit harder than any previous meeting, especially with the very real prospect of strikes, lockouts, and a delayed season now staring everyone directly in the face.

As one fan put it: “It would be a shame if all the momentum that was built came to a halt. Baseball was never the same after the lockout back in the 90s.” Another fan, equally deflated, said, “Just when I was going to buy season tickets. NOT.”

As it appears, this 12-hour meeting seems to be the most comprehensive negotiation session so far. Which only raises a more painful question, as echoed by one fan: “Why would such an important negotiation start at 5 PM on the deadline day?”

But while that question is very much justified, the fact that the CBA has dragged on this long seems understandable to at least some fans. The logic is quite simple. They have not met the players’ demands, and until they have, there should be no deal. One fan, clearly in the players’ corner, said: “See ya WNBA!!! Please just pay & give these incredible players what they deserve!!!” Another, equally frustrated, said: “Why won’t they just pay them??”

Whether the WNBPA is very much justified in holding on to their resolve, or whether there is something both sides could have done better in all these months of negotiations, the reality on the ground is one of uncertainty. Time will be running out, and maybe hope too, if a resolution does not come soon.