The WNBA might have finally accepted the players have the leverage here

The Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA) between the WNBA and its players expires on Friday night, and according to ESPN’s reporting, there will likely not be another extension of the deadline. The deal was first set to expire on Oct. 31, but was extended until Nov. 30, and then extended again to Jan. 9. Letting the agreement expire doesn’t automatically mean that there will be a work stoppage, though.

At Unrivaled practice on Thursday, Breanna Stewart told the media, “We are not coming to an agreement by tomorrow, I can tell you that.” She continued on to say that both sides will continue to negotiate in good faith. There is also a lot of confidence from both sides that a deal will indeed happen, and that the 2026 WNBA season will end up happening — a fear among many as negotiations continue to drag along.

The latest report from Alexa Philippou of ESPN adds another interesting tidbit: that the league realizes how much is at stake if games are missed (which could happen if an agreement isn’t reached soon).

This bit of information is somewhat new, but has been alluded to for a while. The momentum the WNBA has gained over the past few years is continuing to race forward, and skipping a season would do nothing good for the league. There is too much money on the line, even when you think about the media rights deal, endorsements, and sponsorships. There is so much support coming in for the league, but of course, that support depends on the season actually happening.

It’s why the players have had more leverage this entire time. You can’t have all these endorsements and attention on the league without the games happening, and you can’t have games without the players. The players also have options, which means they aren’t as desperate as they were even just five years ago to just accept whatever the WNBA was willing to offer. They can hold out and not feel the effects as badly, because most players have other streams of revenue to depend on. Even if they don’t, they can go out and seek those opportunities easily.

It’s not the like players don’t want to play, either. The opposite is true; these players love being on that court more than anything. Yet, they also understand what is at stake. The fact that they have worked incredibly hard to build the league to what it is now, that they put their bodies on the line for the league. They know they deserve to be compensated better for that, not just with money but with treatment as well.

So they’ll hold strong now, to honor the people who paved the way for them, and to make things better for the players who will play in this league after they’re done.