The WNBA and the WNBPA have officially laid out a term sheet for the new collective bargaining agreement, detailing more about the substantial financial gains for players.
The seven-year CBA, which will take effect for the 2026 season and extend through 2032, still must be drafted and ratified by both parties.
As The Athletic reported earlier, the salary cap will be $7 million in the first year of the deal and adjust annually based on changes in league and team revenue. In 2026, per a release from the league, the minimum salary will be $270,000, the average salary will be $583,000 and the maximum will be $1.4 million. Those figures are projected to grow to $340,000, over $1 million and $2.4 million, respectively, by the final year of the agreement.
Rookie salaries will grow substantially in the new CBA. The No. 1 pick in the upcoming WNBA Draft is scheduled to make $500,000, compared to only $78,831 for top pick Paige Bueckers in 2025. Players who are currently on rookie contracts as the CBA comes into effect, like Caitlin Clark and Angel Reese, will have their salaries right-sized, unlike the 2020 CBA. The new deal also allows for players on rookie contracts who have earned MVP or All-WNBA first- or second-team honors to receive the maximum salary in the fourth year of their initial deal.
Another significant change comes to protecting veterans from the coring rule, which previously allowed teams to retain one free agent’s rights (even unrestricted free agents) for two seasons. Starting in 2027, players with at least seven years of service cannot be cored.
Teams are now required to roster 12 players, compared to the option to have 11 instead of 12 in the previous CBA — a rule that allowed franchises to spend more on top players. Teams can also carry two developmental players, though their pay will not come out of the team’s salary cap.
The WNBA is also expanding its season to 50 games in 2027 and to 52 games in 2029; by that point, the league will have 17 teams with Cleveland and Detroit rejoining the WNBA.
League-provided housing, which was a key priority for the WNBPA during negotiations, will remain available for all players over the first three seasons of the agreement and will continue to be available for players making $500,000 or less in 2029 and 2030.
Charter travel has been officially codified in the CBA after two years of charter flights being mandated independently of the agreement. Other improved player experience elements include: first-class travel accommodations, enhanced standards for team staffing and facilities, expanded mental health coverage and family planning benefits, and increased contributions to player 401(k) accounts.
The league will also spend considerably more on awards bonuses. Awards and recognitions like WNBA championships, first- and second-team recognitions, rookie of the year, sixth player of the year and most improved player will all see their awards payments triple in value. The WNBA Finals MVP’s award bonus will be six times larger, increasing from $5,000 to $30,000.
Defensive awards and honors will receive some of the biggest bumps in the new contract. The all-defensive team honorees’ payments will go up tenfold (from $1,500 to $15,000) and the all-defensive second-team members, who previously didn’t receive award money, will now get $7,000. Defensive player of the year winners will earn $30,000 (previously $5,150). Under the 2026 CBA, all performance bonus amounts will increase at the same rate as the growth rate for the salary cap.
The deal also provides credits for retired players. Retirees with at least 12 years of service will receive a one-time $100,000 payment. The payment will be $50,000 for retirees with eight to 11 years of service and $30,000 for retirees with five to seven years of service.