What's WNBA salary cap in new CBA? Salaries and revenue sharing, explained
The WNBA and Women's National Basketball Players Association (WNBPA) powered through more than 100 hours of negotiations to agree in principle to a new collective bargaining agreement, a person with knowledge of the situation confirmed to USA TODAY Sports.
Next, a term sheet will need to be signed before it then goes to the players for a vote and then to a board of governors for ratification.
WNBA commissioner Cathy Engelbert said the season will start on time on May 8 after the WNBA draft on April 13. Training camp begins on April 19. The WNBA also needs conduct free agency and expansion drafts for the Portland Fire and Toronto Tempo. A timeline for those two items was not provided early Wednesday morning.
The deal is expected to increase player salaries nearly fourfold from last season, ESPN reported. The league will have million-dollar players for the first time entering its 30th season. The agreement reflects the league’s continued growth over the past few years reflected in attendance, viewership and investment. Here's what we know so far about the new salary cap, maximum salaries, minimum salaries, average salaries and revenue sharing.
What is WNBA's salary cap?
The new salary cap is expected be $7 million, ESPN reported, up from $1.5 million in 2025. The average player salary is expected to be in range of $600,000, up from $105,000 last year.
A new salary system became the main point of contention in negotiations. Although Engelbert noted the league wanted to "significantly increase (player) salary and benefits," and create a "transformational deal" for players, both sides proposed different ways of doing so.
WNBA minimum salary
The minimum salary is exected to be above $300,000. The minimum salary last year was $66,079.
Highest WNBA salary
The supermax is expected to be $1.4 million. Supermax players earned a base salary of $249,244 last season.
WNBA revenue sharing
The average revenue share for the players would reportedly be nearly 20% across deal, up from 9.3%.
The WNBPA had requested 25% of gross revenue in the first year, increasing over the life of the agreement to an average of roughly 26%. The WNBA was offering more than 70% of league and team net revenue.
In a statement, union president Nneka Ogwumike said the revenue sharing system, which was a major sticking point throughout negotiations, will fuel "exponential" salary cap growth.
When is the 2026 WNBA Draft? Who has No. 1 pick?
The 2026 WNBA Draft is scheduled to take place on Monday, April 13, a little more than a week after a national champion will be crowned at the 2026 NCAA Tournament. The Dallas Wings were awarded the No. 1 overall pick in the draft lottery for the second consecutive year. The Wings will have first dibs on big names like UConn's Azzi Fudd, Spain's Awa Fam, UCLA's Lauren Betts, TCU's Olivia Miles and LSU's Flau'jae Johnson.
"We want someone who wants to win," Wings forward Maddy Siegrist said, who represented the team at the lottery in November. The Minnesota Lynx will pick second in the draft, followed by the Seattle Storm.
When is the 2026 expansion draft?
The Toronto Tempo and Portland Fire are set to join the league in 2026 as the 14th and 15th WNBA franchises, but the teams will have to wait a little longer to begin assembling their rosters. That's because the rules and format of the upcoming expansion draft will be negotiated in the new CBA, meaning the draft cannot be held until a deal is in place.
"We have given our general managers some guidance on how we’re thinking, but until we get the collective bargaining agreement done, it won’t be finalized as to the format or process," Englebert said in October. "But you can expect, because you saw what we did last year, something similar."
When the Golden State Valkyries joined the league as the 13th franchise in 2025, the team's expansion draft was held on Dec. 6, 2024. The draft rules were released on Sept. 30, 2024 and WNBA teams were required to provide the league with a roster list of all their players by Nov 25, 2024, including six protected players that wouldn't be available for selection. Golden State then got to pick one player from each team, nearly two months before team-building continued through free agency in late January.
The timeline will be much tighter for the Tempo and Fire with the WNBA's projected May 8 start date. The league has to squeeze in an expansion draft for two teams, free agency featuring over 100 players, and the 2026 WNBA Draft before opening night.
When does WNBA free agency start?
It is not yet known when exactly free agency will begin, but it will likely be a wild ride with about 80% of players being free agents.
2026 WNBA season schedule
The WNBA's landmark 30th season is scheduled to tip off on Friday, May 8.
- May 8: Opening Night
- June 1-17: Commissioner's Cup
- July 24-27: All-Star Weekend (Chicago)
- Sept. 1-16: FIBA Break
- Sept. 24: Last day of regular season