The ‘once-in-a-lifetime’ event that will reset the WNBA

The ‘once-in-a-lifetime’ event that will reset the WNBA

Nick U’Ren has an idea. The WNBA has embarked on a league-altering stretch, surging toward what is expected to be an offseason unlike any other following the 2025 season. And U’Ren, who is in his first full season as the Phoenix Mercury’s general manager, has floated a concept to some of his fellow executives that involves a trip to Las Vegas.

“It’s going to be like a fantasy football draft,” he joked. “We should all just get together, get a table, and we’ll just do this thing in one room.”

U’Ren, of course, was being tongue-in-cheek, but the underlying thought is very real — the WNBA could look drastically different heading into 2026. The league is nearing a perfect storm. As interest reaches new heights, a new media rights deal is expected to provide an influx of cash that will alter league finances significantly. In turn, the players are expected to opt out of the collective bargaining agreement — they must provide written notice in November, in which case the CBA would expire after the 2025 season.

The salary cap and player salaries should increase substantially under the next agreement, and players have been preparing for this in recent years by signing short-term contracts. As of this week, Dallas Wings center Kalani Brown and Los Angeles Sparks guard Lexie Brown are the only players in the league who are not on rookie deals and are under contract beyond next season, according to HerHoopStats. Every other veteran is set to hit free agency in some way in a league that also will feature two new teams after the additions of expansion Golden State (2025) and Toronto (2026). Well over 100 players could be on the market, including every veteran star.

Simply put, 2026 in the WNBA will be a whole new world.

“This is going to be a once-in-a-lifetime, almost, event,” New York Liberty General Manager Jonathan Kolb said. “And I think it’s something that people haven’t talked about just yet. But from a team side, we’re all very much aware that you’re going to have a lot of the league that’s free to choose where they want to play basketball.”

U’Ren added: “I think it’s unlike anything any league has seen.”

A new media rights deal is the most important piece of the puzzle. The league’s broadcast rights, which expire next year, are valued at about $60 million per season, according to people familiar with the numbers, and the NBA, which owns about 60 percent of the WNBA, is negotiating new rights for both leagues. The new deal, according to Bloomberg and the Wall Street Journal, could surpass $7 billion per year for both leagues, and the WNBA’s portion could be north of $180 million to $200 million, multiple media executives have predicted.

Opinions vary about whether the league should continue to pair with the NBA or seek an independent deal as interest in the WNBA soars, but either way the impact on the WNBA’s finances — and on player pay and the salary cap — is expected to be significant.

When the time comes to negotiate a new CBA, Women’s National Basketball Players Association executive director Terri Jackson said, WNBA players are “laser focused” on specific salaries instead of a compensation model that currently gives players the opportunity to earn more through other means such as bonuses and marketing agreements.

“All eyes on that deal and what it could set us up for next,” Jackson said. “Many [players] crafted their contracts to give them greater opportunity to renegotiate something that is more appropriate and closer to their value, particularly in this new system that we have.”

With that reality on the horizon, front offices are trying to plan for an unknown future. Contending teams are maneuvering to win a championship immediately with the understanding their rosters could be dismantled through free agency in two years. Expansion drafts after this season and next also will pick at existing teams.

Every GM has to consider a multitude of issues. What are the contract details of players around the league? Which players are you prioritizing on your own roster? Who will be available via free agency and in the draft, and whom could you lose? What are the salary ranges you are willing to allocate for different players and positions?

“It’s hard. You just have to have different scenarios,” Connecticut Sun GM Darius Taylor said. “… The unknown always brings an uneasiness and a little bit of stress and, obviously, my job is to help put the best team together to compete for championships.”

Some teams aren’t ready to contend, and their planning is different. The Washington Mystics, for example, have an eye toward 2026 in a different way. General Manager Mike Thibault moved away from the core of Washington’s 2019 championship team and begin to reconstruct the roster with an understanding that a league-changing offseason is coming. Few players were interested in deals beyond 2025 anyway, but the Mystics didn’t chase high-priced stars and knew the immediate future would be a challenge. Part of the Mystics’ plan has been trying to maximize their assets in the draft, and that includes having a pair of first-round picks next year.

The Indiana Fever has one of the more unusual situations in the league because its franchise cornerstones — back-to-back No. 1 picks Aliyah Boston and Caitlin Clark — are on rookie deals that extend into 2026. The Chicago Sky is in a similar situation with 2024 first-round picks Angel Reese and Kamilla Cardoso signed beyond 2025, and so are the Los Angeles Sparks with 2024 first-round picks Cameron Brink and Rickea Jackson. Most teams, though, don’t have the luxury of knowing their top two players will be under contract in 2026.

“You have to keep the long-term goal out there and then have short-term goals that lead to that,” Thibault said. “Everybody’s going to be in this wild frenzy in early 2026. And if we play by the rules, one team doesn’t get to get all the players because that’s the point of a salary cap.”

“I’m 22 years old, and, there’s a lot of expectations on my shoulders,” Clark said.

Part of the strategy, multiple GMs said, is making their organization as attractive as possible for free agents and players already on the roster. Franchises will be in similar situations with few players under contract and money to spend. So how can one organization separate itself and woo free agents? The most common answer is to look inward. Game day and practice facilities will be a significant selling point, and teams are looking to address them as such.

The Wings, for example, recently reached an agreement to move downtown to play at Kay Bailey Hutchison Convention Center Dallas Memorial Arena in 2026, moving from College Park Center in Arlington, a shared court with the University of Texas Arlington. The Las Vegas Aces and Seattle Storm recently opened new practice facilities.

“It’s … just about building up the organization so it’s a place where players are ultimately going to want to play,” Kolb said.

All of this is widely perceived to be a good thing. Women’s basketball is having the moment it has worked toward for decades, with viewership records continuing to be broken on the NCAA and WNBA levels. Because of shifts in NCAA policy, modern social media and other exposure, players are coming into the WNBA with massive followings and are bringing new eyes to the league.

A new media rights deal and the arrival of new teams should provide additional and bigger platforms for fans to engage with. Those things bring new money, which directly affects the compensation issues players are ready to keep fighting for through collective bargaining.

“The ‘if you build it, they will come’ has actually come to light now that everybody’s talking about the WNBA,” Commissioner Cathy Engelbert said. “One thing that we wanted was an active free agency system, and we got it, right? Last year, huge free agent movements, and it creates excitement and creates household names. It creates rivalries. It created super teams. And that’s what you want in a league because that’s what makes people watch, which drives the value of whether it’s your media rights, your corporate partnerships or your valuation of your franchises.

“So, yeah, it’s going to be really interesting, I think. But that’s not a bad thing.”

Ben Strauss contributed to this report.