The WNBA and its players association has agreed to another extension to close out the weekend as the labor drama continues.
Thanksgiving leftovers in the WNBA included a bittersweet dish.
The league ended this holiday weekend by announcing an extension of its current collective bargaining agreement with its players association, this one extending through Jan. 9. A statement from the league mentions either party can terminate the extension with 48 hours’ notice and “are continuing to work toward a new agreement.”
This is the latest timeline push on the CBA talks: the current agreement was originally set to expire in 2027 before the WNBA Players Association triggered an early opt-out. The new expiration date was Oct. 30, but the two sides agreed to a month’s extension despite the end of this past season being somewhat marred by a cold war between players and league management.
Contrary to popular belief, the CBA’s expiration would not automatically trigger a work stoppage, which would only be triggered by a player strike or management lockout. Instead, the league and players would continue to operate under the guidelines of the expired CBA and continue negotiating.
While the lack of official stoppage can be viewed as a good sign, things are about to get a bit uncomfortable on the league calendar: the extension likely only further delays plans for the 2025-26 expansion draft(s), as the rosters for both the incoming Portland Fire and Toronto Tempo remain blank beyond their head coaches. This week will mark the one-year anniversary of the Golden State Valkyries forming their own inaugural roster.
Sources told ESPN that the league has been proposed a 21-day extension. Two sides are still discussing length of the extension, which expires at midnight tonight. https://t.co/8YZrAEg10D
— Ramona Shelburne (@ramonashelburne) December 1, 2025
Progress toward a new CBA, according to reports, has also been relatively thin: one reported proposal from the league would’ve given players a maximum salary in seven figures, but Alexa Philippou of ESPN reported that “the WNBPA did not see this proposal as moving things forward.” Even this latest extension appeared to be a point of contention of sorts: Ramona Shelburne, also of ESPN, reported that the league proposed extensions of three and six weeks but that the WNBPA’s suggestion was but 24 hours.
Amidst the relative transaction freeze, alternative forms of women’s basketball have snuck into the headlines: Project B, an international league promising seven-figure salaries, has lured popular stars such as Sophie Cunningham, Jonquel Jones, Jewell Loyd, Nneka Ogwumike, and Alyssa Thomas.
The latest WNBA CBA extension, ironically, ends four days after the second season of Unrivaled, the domestic three-on-three league co-founded by lead WNBPA negotiators Napheesa Collier and Breanna Stewart, tips off.
The continued extensions are perhaps productive procrastination, especially after the previous month’s verbal showdown between the league and several of its major faces. But with major events starting to drift toward jeopardy, the lack of official progress is somewhat alarming.
Geoff Magliocchetti is on X @GeoffJMags
