A landmark WNBA labor deal nears reality, paving the way for the first million dollar players
NEW YORK (AP) — A landmark new WNBA collective bargaining agreement was reached in principle early Wednesday morning that will give the league its first million dollar players. There's still a lot of work to do between now and the start of the regular season on May 8, however. Lawyers on both sides are finalizing the term sheet for players and the league's Board of Governors to approve, which should be done in the next day or so.
The union will have informational sessions with its players to walk them through key terms, answer questions and make sure they understand what the deal means for them. It will then get put to a vote with a majority needed to ratify the CBA. The league's Board of Governors will then need to approve the deal before it becomes official.
Then the sprint to the start of the season begins. Expansion draft First up will be the expansion draft for the two new teams — Toronto and Portland. Rules regarding who the current teams will be able to protect and how the draft will work are still being figured out.
The draft is expected to take place right around the Final Four. The league had an expansion draft last year for the Golden State Valkyries, but that was just one team and most of the players weren't free agents. The 13 other teams will submit a list of players they are protecting to the Tempo and Fire, who will then figure out who they will chose.
Free agency and college draft More than 80% of the league are free agents this year as players had signed deals that were going to expire last year. There are only two veteran players that aren't under rookie contracts who are signed for this season. The teams will need to understand the new CBA in realtime to figure out deals.