WNBA, players union on the clock for season postponement with deadline set

The WNBA and players union have only two weeks to agree to terms on a new collective bargaining agreement to avoid a delayed start to the 2026 season.

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That’s what league officials told the Women’s National Basketball Players’ Association in a virtual meeting Monday that included more than 50 players.

March 10 is the deadline for the term sheet to be completed before labor talks impact the league’s May 8 start date, sources with knowledge of the situation confirmed to The Post Monday evening.

Even after a deal is agreed upon, it could take weeks to ratify as both sides’ lawyers comb through the document.

The WNBA still needs to complete a two-team expansion draft and go through one of the largest free agencies in league history, with 80 percent of players on expired contracts.

The WNBA draft is scheduled for April 13.

Training camp is slated to open a week later, April 19.

But none of that can happen while the CBA remains unsettled.

The biggest sticking point remains revenue share, with the league standing firm on its stance of offering players a cut of net profit rather than a share of gross revenue (revenue before expenses are paid).

The NBA, NFL and NHL’s revenue share models are all based on gross revenue. 

The WNBA submitted a counterproposal to players Friday afternoon — three days after blasting the WNBPA’s latest proposal as “unrealistic.”

While the league offered to restore housing for all players in 2026, it made no significant changes to its revenue share offer. 

There’s still roughly a 12.5 percent gap in gross revenue share between the two parties and a $3.85 million difference in proposed salary caps.

The WNBPA has lowered its demand from an initial 40 percent of gross revenue to 27.5 percent this month.

The league continues to offer 70 percent of net revenue, which is less than 15 percent of gross revenue.

It’s been more than 15 months since players opted out of the previous CBA.

Negotiations didn’t pick up steam until the new year.

The two sides now have a deadline to agree to a deal before it impacts playing games.

Players striking for the first time in league history is possible.