The current CBA will still be in effect throughout next season, but both sides would like to get a deal done sooner rather than later.
Negotiations are always intense, but those associated with the WNBA have much to be excited about.
The league is expanding and will increase the number of regular season games to 44. The WNBA will hold an expansion draft for Golden State in December. The Valkyries will be the league’s 13th franchise. The league will add franchises in Toronto and Portland in 2026, with at least one other team starting in either 2027 or 2028.
Although the WNBA could lose one of its iconic stars if Diana Taurasi announces her retirement, league officials are looking forward to another highly anticipated draft. The draft lottery is next month. It will determine who gets the first pick and potentially Paige Bueckers, who 21 years after Taurasi could become the next UConn guard to be selected No. 1.
Many of the league’s top players will remain in the U.S. this winter and play in January in Unrivaled — the 3-on-3 league started by WNBA Finals standouts Breanna Stewart and Napheesa Collier.
The Stewart and Collier championship showdown led to strong ratings, with all five games having more than a million TV viewers. The decisive Game 5 drew an average of 2.2 million viewers, peaking at 3.3 million, which made it the most-watched WNBA game in 25 years.
The league as a whole had its most-watched regular season in 24 years and best attendance in 22 seasons. During the 40-game regular season, 22 telecasts topped at least a million viewers on a host of networks.
The league’s rookie class, led by Caitlin Clark and Angel Reese, was a big part of that success — and all should come back stronger and better next year.
“When Caitlin Clark…