Mar 03, 2026
3 min read
Labor negotiations between the WNBA and WNBPA are at a critical juncture ahead of the March 10 deadline.
Kelsey Plum and Breanna Stewart on WNBA labor talks: 'A strike would be the worst thing for both sides'
Los Angeles Sparks star Kelsey Plum knows how important it is for the players and the league to come together on a new collective bargaining agreement (CBA) before it's too late.Plum, who is also vice president of the WNBPA, emphasized that the players want to play the season and said a strike would be "the worst thing for both sides."
Plum added that the players will continue negotiations in hopes of reaching a new deal "in time".
Kelsey Plum, first vice president of the WNBPA: "I want to play and the players want to play. Obviously we will continue to negotiate and do everything we can to get this done in a timely manner.
— Alexa Filippou (@alexafilippou) March 2, 2026
Last Monday, the WNBA announced the date of March 10 for the new CBA.If a new deal isn't reached by that date, the 2026 WNBA season could be in jeopardy.
In an effort to meet that deadline, the WNBA would submit a new CBA counterproposal on Sunday, New York Liberty star Breanna Stewart told ESPN's Alexa Philippou.
While the details of that counteroffer are not known at this time, the fact that both Plum and Stewart felt compelled to discuss labor issues on Monday suggests that the league's latest offer fell short.
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This is a common practice for both sides during the offseason.Both the WNBA and WNBPA made recommendations and counter-proposals, mostly regarding revenue sharing.
After a particularly tense back-and-forth in late February, in which the WNBA called a WNBPA revenue-sharing proposal "unrealistic," the two sides still seemed pretty far apart.The league has filed at least two more counterproposals since then, and it appears progress has been made on the revenue-sharing front, Stewart said Monday.
Breanna Stewart: "The most important thing right now is agreement. I think the main takeaway is that we agreed to share, we're just struggling to agree on a model. So I think both sides need to see the victory that we have and we're sure...
— Geoff Magliocchetti (@GeoffJMags) 2. mars 2026
Stewart noted that NBA commissioner Adam Silver, who said he was helping with negotiations, was not on the call.Like Plum, Stewart warned against a strike, saying, "I don't think a strike is good for anybody."
With the WNBA deadline looming, players have the right to take action if an agreement isn't reached. Players approved that ability in December, though some reportedly had second thoughts as negotiations progressed.
Whether it comes to it depends on how things develop over the next few days.Stewart seemed to show some optimism that at least one major issue is closer to a resolution, but he admitted that both sides need to refine their offers to reach a deal.
