The United States women’s basketball league (WNBA) and the union of players announced this Friday that they had reached a provisional agreement on a “historic” seven-year labor agreement after months of tense negotiations.
The new collective bargaining agreement, which will take effect beginning with the 2026 season and extend through 2032, will see the salary cap rise from $1.5 million to $7 million in 2026 and will be adjusted annually based on league and team revenue growth, the WNBA and the union said in a statement.
“The 2026 collective agreement establishes the first comprehensive revenue sharing model in the history of women’s professional sports,” he said. “This innovative model offers unlimited potential for players as league and team revenues continue to grow.”
Under the new agreement, the league’s best players will have the chance to sign the first multi-million dollar contracts in WNBA history.
Players on max contracts will earn a salary of $1.4 million in 2026, which is expected to increase to more than $2.4 million by 2032, based on current financial projections. The league’s average salary is projected to reach $583,000 in 2026 and exceed $1 million by 2032.
Minimum salaries will range between $270,000 and $300,000 in 2026 (depending on years of service) and between $340,000 and $380,000 by 2032, up from $66,000 last year.
A new rookie contract scale will increase the salaries of top draft picks and create a “fast track” to max-level contracts for players still under rookie contracts and earning Most Valuable Player or All-WNBA honors.
The agreement, reached verbally earlier this week, has yet to be formally ratified by the players.
It also includes investments in improved standards for team facilities, expanded staffing requirements and league-wide charter air travel.
The agreement ensures that the WNBA’s 30th season will begin as scheduled on May 8.
It ends an increasingly agricultural dispute between the WNBA and the Women’s National Basketball Players Association (WNBPA), which had dragged on for several months.
