Everything you need to know about the WNBA's new CBA and upcoming season
Now that the WNBA and WNBA Players Association have verbally agreed to terms on a new deal, attention turns to what will be a whirlwind month on the league’s calendar.
Now that the WNBA and WNBA Players Association have verbally agreed to terms on a new deal , attention turns to what will be a whirlwind month on the league’s calendar. The sides spent more than 100 hours negotiating over the last eight days, closing a 17-month ordeal that will receive the final bows in the coming weeks. The official term sheet will be finalized this week, after which the document will be sent to the players and the WNBA Board of Governors for a vote.
“They (lawyers) haven’t gotten any sleep either, so maybe we’ll give them some sleep tonight and tomorrow,” WNBA commissioner Cathy Engelbert told reporters on site early Wednesday morning in a transcript shared with Yahoo Sports. “And then we’ll move into long-form [CBA document] and then hopefully expansion draft, free agency, college draft, training camp and preseason, and tip of the season on May 8. ” That begins the official clock that also overlaps the biggest three weeks of the collegiate basketball season: March Madness.
A source with knowledge of the situation confirmed to Yahoo Sports that the schedule for the remainder of the offseason will start on time, but the CBA paperwork needs to be completed before any dates can be confirmed. Yahoo Fantasy Bracket Mayhem: Make your picks for $50K in total prizes Certain dates are set into the calendar, while others are proposed dates from the last proposed schedule the league shared with teams. Here’s how the next 51 days might look before the league tips off its 30th season on May 8.
Expansion draft for Portland, Toronto: April 1-6 Portland and Toronto still need to select their initial rosters in an expansion draft that will kick off offseason work. The terms of an expansion draft are negotiated as part of the CBA, and it will look different than the Golden State Valkyries’ single-team expansion draft in 2024. Toronto Tempo head coach Sandy Brondello and GM Monica Wright Rogers will participate in an expansion draft alongside the Portland Fire.
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