By Okla Jones ·Updated March 18, 2026 < /> Getting your Trinity Audio player ready… Following more than a year of negotiations, the WNBA and the Women’s National Basketball Players Association have reached a verbal agreement on a new collective bargaining agreement, bringing an end to a prolonged and, at times, tense process. The agreement was reached early Wednesday morning, just 51 days before the league is set to begin its 30th season.
Talks between the two sides intensified over the past week in New York, where league and union representatives logged more than 100 hours in meetings at The Langham hotel in Midtown Manhattan. Discussions stretched late into the night on multiple occasions before both sides finalized terms shortly after 2 AM ET. WNBA commissioner Cathy Engelbert and WNBPA executive director Terri Carmichael Jackson were joined by members of the union’s executive committee, including president Nneka Ogwumike and vice presidents Breanna Stewart and Alysha Clark, in confirming the agreement.
While full details have not yet been released, both sides described the deal as a significant step forward for the league. Stewart called the agreement “ rel="tag">Nneka Ogwumike Sports wnba wnbpa women’s basketball
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