Overview
- Negotiators met in person at The Langham in Manhattan from about 5 p.m. ET Tuesday, with players departing around 3 a.m. and staff-level talks concluding near dawn without an agreement.
- WNBPA executive director Terri Carmichael Jackson said discussions were "going in the right direction," while commissioner Cathy Engelbert called the talks "complex" and said they are working toward a "win-win" deal.
- The core impasse centers on revenue sharing and pay structure, with players seeking roughly 25–26% of gross revenue versus owners offering more than 70% of net revenue, alongside gaps on a 2026 salary cap (about $5.75 million offered by the league versus a union target near $9.5 million) and the future of league-funded housing.
- Without a term sheet, the league cannot finalize expansion-draft rules for the Portland Fire and Toronto Tempo, open free agency for more than 100 players, hold the April 13 college draft, or start April 19 training camps, increasing the risk of a delayed season start.
- Players voted in December to authorize union leaders to call a strike with 98% approval, leaving a first-ever work stoppage as a potential leverage option if progress stalls.