Overview
- Negotiators reconvened in Manhattan on Wednesday after a 12-hour overnight session ended without a deal, with talks continuing late into the evening and multiple proposals traded over more than 20 hours.
- The league’s March 10 handshake target passed without an agreement, and any deal would still require weeks for legal review and ratification, squeezing plans for an early‑April expansion draft, free agency, the April 13 college draft, training camps and a May 8 opener.
- The central impasse remains revenue sharing: recent union proposals seek roughly 26% of gross revenue with an initial 2026 cap near $9.5 million, while the league’s last known offer ties pay to more than 70% of net revenue with a cap around $5.75 million.
- Non‑economic terms still in play include team‑provided housing, core and franchise designations, and benefits for retired players, which both sides have identified as key issues alongside the revenue model.
- WNBA commissioner Cathy Engelbert, WNBPA executive director Terri Carmichael Jackson, player leaders Nneka Ogwumike, Breanna Stewart, Alysha Clark and Brianna Turner, and Liberty owner Clara Wu Tsai attended, with Sun president Jennifer Rizzotti joining Wednesday; a previously authorized strike remains a leverage option for players.