Everything you need to know about the WNBA’s new CBA and upcoming season

Now that the WNBA and WNBA Players Association have verbally agreed to terms on a new deal, attention turns to what will be a whirlwind month on the league’s calendar. 

The sides spent more than 100 hours negotiating over the last eight days, closing a 17-month ordeal that will receive the final bows in the coming weeks. The official term sheet will be finalized this week, after which the document will be sent to the players and the WNBA Board of Governors for a vote.

“They (lawyers) haven’t gotten any sleep either, so maybe we’ll give them some sleep tonight and tomorrow,” WNBA commissioner Cathy Engelbert told reporters on site early Wednesday morning in a transcript shared with Yahoo Sports. “And then we’ll move into long-form [CBA document] and then hopefully expansion draft, free agency, college draft, training camp and preseason, and tip of the season on May 8.” 

That begins the official clock that also overlaps the biggest three weeks of the collegiate basketball season: March Madness. A source with knowledge of the situation confirmed to Yahoo Sports that the schedule for the remainder of the offseason will start on time, but the CBA paperwork needs to be completed before any dates can be confirmed. 

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Certain dates are set into the calendar, while others are proposed dates from the last proposed schedule the league shared with teams.

Here’s how the next 51 days might look before the league tips off its 30th season on May 8. 

Expansion draft for Portland, Toronto: April 1-6

Portland and Toronto still need to select their initial rosters in an expansion draft that will kick off offseason work. The terms of an expansion draft are negotiated as part of the CBA, and it will look different than the Golden State Valkyries’ single-team expansion draft in 2024. 

Nick Lachance via Getty Images

That selection for the Valkyries was held in December, months before free agency began. Golden State could acquire the contract or negotiating rights to one player from each team. Only one player from the league who was eligible to become an unrestricted free agent could be selected, which raises an issue in this round.  

Each of the existing 12 teams submitted a list of protected players. Those lists were not made publicly available, an assumption that can be carried over to this expansion draft as well. 

The expansion draft target date fully covers the NCAA’s Final Four weekend, which will be held in Phoenix. 

Free agency: More than 100 free agents

The free agency period consists of a few different portions, all of which are projected to take place in a 12-day window. Last offseason, that window stretched 22 days, from Jan. 11 to Feb. 1, with plenty of time for free agents to sign into February. 

The sheer salary increase will make for an interesting watch as front offices juggle the numbers. Some key figures:

• The salary cap will rise from $1.5M to $7M, per ESPN, a 466% jump.

• Supermax contracts are up 561% to $1.4M, from around $250K

• Minimum salaries above $300,000, with the average salary around $600,000

These are numbers in the range of those reported over the past couple of months, giving teams at least an idea of what their offers will be once the time comes. 

Qualifying offers target dates: April 7-8

First, qualifying offers will be sent by teams to players who are reserved or restricted free agents. 

Reserved players are free to negotiate a contract with their own team using different terms than the qualifying offer, but cannot negotiate with other teams. A restricted free agent can sign an offer sheet with another team, but their holding team has the “right of first refusal” and can match that deal to keep the player rostered. 

Atlanta’s offers will be key to watch as both Rhyne Howard, the 2022 No. 1 draft pick,  and Naz Hillmon, who entered the starting rotation, are restricted. The Sparks (Rae Burrell) and Valkyries (Veronica Burton) also have high-contribution names on these lists. The previous season’s window stretched for 10 days from Jan. 11-20. 

This is also when teams can offer “core designations,” which operate like the NFL’s franchise tags. The length and terms of core designations were limited in the previous CBA, and the players union wanted them lessened further this bargaining round. 

Previously, teams could designate no more than one core player. As of the last season of the previous CBA, players could not serve as the core player for more than two seasons. 

Also complicating this stretch is the league’s proposal — should it be in the CBA — that any player on a rookie scale contract to earn all-WNBA honors become eligible to sign a maximum contract in their fourth year and are not eligible for the core designation. This offseason, it impacts the Fever. Aliyah Boston is maximum contract eligible, while Caitlin Clark will be next year.

Negotiations: April 9-11

Teams can negotiate with free agents in a projected three-day window, a downgrade from the 10 days typically set. Players cannot sign offer sheets until the signing period opens, and teams cannot announce any handshake deals, whether obvious or not. The Storm were fined in 2022 under the league’s tampering rules for announcing Sue Bird’s re-signing in this window. 

Players and their agents have already had initial conversations around their free-agent plans, as have players among themselves while at their offseason leagues. Teams and front offices also spoke with players in exit interviews after their final games, giving an idea of whether a player is wanted back or not — and giving players insight if they want to return. So while it’s a shorter window, it’s not as if these conversations are only just beginning. 

Free agency opens: April 12

Free agency is projected to open on April 12 and run for a week until training camps open. It’s likely additional signings take place once camps open and even throughout the preseason. But that April 12-14 range will probably feature the most news. 

Every player not on a rookie contract is a free agent, excluding Kalani Brown and Lexie Brown. Players signed contracts to end in 2025 so that they could re-sign under the framework of the new CBA for both financial and beneficial reasons. 

Conflicting with the free agency period is the collegiate draft, setting up potential conundrums as front offices juggle free agency targets with whom they select in the draft. Once again, staffs will be stretched thin unless they operate with New York as a landing place to meet with free agents and draftees. 

Collegiate draft: April 13

In the middle of free agency is the collegiate draft, which the league set publicly late last year. A location has yet to be announced. It has been held in New York City since 2016, with the exception of the 2020 draft held virtually during the COVID-19 pandemic. The previous two seasons have been open to fan attendance. 

The timeline for draft announcements isn’t too far off. The league often waits until mid-March to give a location and open ticket sales. Last year, that came on March 12. The league has been operating throughout the negotiations as if there would be a full season, so an announcement here is likely incoming soon. 

The Dallas Wings hold the No. 1 pick for the second consecutive season, followed by Minnesota, Seattle, Washington and Chicago. Toronto and Portland will select at No. 6 and No. 7, but the order of those two has not been announced yet. Lottery pick prospects include UConn’s Azzi Fudd, UCLA’s Lauren Betts, TCU’s Olivia Miles and Spanish center Awa Fam. UConn and UCLA are the top two true seeds in the NCAA tournament and could meet in the championship game on April 5. 

Preseason: April 19

This is the date that has been top of mind for the league as it waded through negotiations these past eight days. Preseason training camps begin slightly earlier this year due to an earlier start date, as the FIBA World Cup will impact the backend of the schedule. The tournament will be played in Germany from Sept. 4-13. 

The preseason slate used to be a quiet affair, but it’s now broadcast widely to meet fan demand. Those games are also big ticket sellers, and the ones scheduled for this year are expected to be sellouts. 

Preseason games

April 25: Fever at Liberty; Storm at Valkyries

Clark, who won MVP of the FIBA Women’s World Cup qualifying tournament this weekend, will visit New York fully healthy for the first time since her rookie season. The Valkyries set the all-time attendance record in their inaugural season with an average attendance of 18,064 and 397,408 total fans. 

April 29: Sun at Tempo: Fire at Storm
April 30: Wings at Fever
May 3: Liberty at Sun

The newest expansion teams will begin their long-awaited seasons. The following day, Clark and the Fever will host Paige Bueckers, the Dallas Wings and their No. 1 draft pick. 

Season opens: May 8

The 30th anniversary season tips off with three games, but it’s really the Saturday slate that will bring the fire (and Fire). The Wings travel to Indiana, the Mercury are in Las Vegas for a WNBA Finals rematch, and the Sky play in Portland.