Happy Basketball Wednesday, presented by The BIG EAST Conference, and greetings from a spirited Finneran Pavilion, where Villanova sure looked like a second weekend NCAA team to me. We are less than three months from what the 2026 WNBA schedule says will be Opening Day for the 2026 season, without any resolution on the collective bargaining talks. Accordingly, everyone on both sides of the ongoing negotiations has their calendars out, furiously calculating just how much longer everyone has to reach consensus.
Basketball Wednesday
The short answer, after speaking to a dozen people on both sides of these negotiations, is that no one really knows exactly. But it is worth nailing down exactly what the moving parts are here to get a sense of exactly when we’ll know just how much time remains.
For instance: multiple sources familiar with the ongoing negotiations told The IX Sports that the players were told they only have two weeks until ESPN begins to re-evaluate the television windows given to the WNBA in 2026. Incidentally, what was interpreted in many quarters as the league looking to put pressure on the players — the release of the 2026 schedule — was in large part an effort to keep both the league’s television partners and arenas in line following what both sides hope is a resolution that doesn’t cost anyone any games this year.
The thing is: nobody believes it.
Multiple league sources did not doubt that a time could come when ESPN might consider bailing on some early-season windows. But one source pointed out just how much more ESPN is paying for media rights in 2026, while another suggested that the ratings the WNBA now receives makes walking away prohibitively expensive for the network.
Instead, the bigger question is this: just how fast can the league conduct a massive amount of offseason business without putting regular season games in peril?
To review: there are two expansion teams who need to draft, there needs to be a free agency period in which virtually the entire league not on rookie contracts will be available to sign anywhere, and there’s a collegiate draft to hold.
“Preseason games are the easiest thing to lose,” one WNBA executive told The IX Sports.
But multiple teams are preparing for what could be a timeline eerily like the 2012 San Diego Fireworks explosion.
Elements around the nonnegotiable offseason business could shrink. The Golden State Valkyries received seven days to review expansion protected lists before their draft. What recourse would Toronto and Portland have if that shrank to 3-5 days, or even less? None, multiple league sources agreed.
Similarly, teams are preparing for a shortened free agency period in which visits are curtailed or eliminated and offers go out the moment the floodgates open. One executive lamented that much of the work to create destination franchises could be lost in the shuffle of the fast-forwarded offseason, while another joked that this could work to the advantage of franchises who are struggling to get practice facilities built in time.
And while everyone agreed that an expansion draft must predate free agency and the collegiate draft, multiple teams are scenario-planning for the latter two potentially taking place simultaneously.
“We’re prepared to do it all in three weeks,” one executive told The IX Sports.
But nobody wants to. And what a shame that would be for every franchise that prepared for this moment, or asking players who are all free agents and on the cusp of massive paydays to choose in a matter of a few days. This is reflected in the most recent actions on both sides. The WNBPA’s proposal shows that the players are working to find common ground, while the six-week period between WNBA proposals isn’t likely to be repeated. No one actually wants to do it all in three weeks, and everything from ESPN and other TV partners to arenas deciding to re-open dates will put external pressure on both sides.
The latter was cited by several sources — essentially, games lost are likely games lost. Getting additional dates at WNBA arenas probably isn’t going to happen. So if a work stoppage costs the league four games, even if it leaves what games are played unbalanced, don’t expect the WNBA to be able to make those up.
That all runs into the pot of money, hurting both sides, no matter how revenue ends up getting split.
That’s why there is a sense of urgency on both sides, along with a feeling of regret in many quarters over some of the slow-playing from both league and players alike in this negotiation. Add that to a shrinking calendar, and the outlines of how the two sides can reach an agreement begin to take shape.
But don’t take anyone’s single timeline or deadline as the gospel at this point. Right now, nobody truly knows when this thing needs to get done.
The short answer, after speaking to a dozen people on both sides of these negotiations, is that no one really knows exactly. But it is worth nailing down exactly what the moving parts are here to get a sense of exactly when we’ll know just how much time remains.
For instance: multiple sources familiar with the ongoing negotiations told The IX Sports that the players were told they only have two weeks until ESPN begins to re-evaluate the television windows given to the WNBA in 2026. Incidentally, what was interpreted in many quarters as the league looking to put pressure on the players — the release of the 2026 schedule — was in large part an effort to keep both the league’s television partners and arenas in line following what both sides hope is a resolution that doesn’t cost anyone any games this year.
The thing is: nobody believes it.
Multiple league sources did not doubt that a time could come when ESPN might consider bailing on some early-season windows. But one source pointed out just how much more ESPN is paying for media rights in 2026, while another suggested that the ratings the WNBA now receives makes walking away prohibitively expensive for the network.
Instead, the bigger question is this: just how fast can the league conduct a massive amount of offseason business without putting regular season games in peril?
To review: there are two expansion teams who need to draft, there needs to be a free agency period in which virtually the entire league not on rookie contracts will be available to sign anywhere, and there’s a collegiate draft to hold.
“Preseason games are the easiest thing to lose,” one WNBA executive told The IX Sports.
But multiple teams are preparing for what could be a timeline eerily like the 2012 San Diego Fireworks explosion.
Elements around the nonnegotiable offseason business could shrink. The Golden State Valkyries received seven days to review expansion protected lists before their draft. What recourse would Toronto and Portland have if that shrank to 3-5 days, or even less? None, multiple league sources agreed.
Similarly, teams are preparing for a shortened free agency period in which visits are curtailed or eliminated and offers go out the moment the floodgates open. One executive lamented that much of the work to create destination franchises could be lost in the shuffle of the fast-forwarded offseason, while another joked that this could work to the advantage of franchises who are struggling to get practice facilities built in time.
And while everyone agreed that an expansion draft must predate free agency and the collegiate draft, multiple teams are scenario-planning for the latter two potentially taking place simultaneously.
“We’re prepared to do it all in three weeks,” one executive told The IX Sports.
But nobody wants to. And what a shame that would be for every franchise that prepared for this moment, or asking players who are all free agents and on the cusp of massive paydays to choose in a matter of a few days. This is reflected in the most recent actions on both sides. The WNBPA’s proposal shows that the players are working to find common ground, while the six-week period between WNBA proposals isn’t likely to be repeated. No one actually wants to do it all in three weeks, and everything from ESPN and other TV partners to arenas deciding to re-open dates will put external pressure on both sides.
The latter was cited by several sources — essentially, games lost are likely games lost. Getting additional dates at WNBA arenas probably isn’t going to happen. So if a work stoppage costs the league four games, even if it leaves what games are played unbalanced, don’t expect the WNBA to be able to make those up.
That all runs into the pot of money, hurting both sides, no matter how revenue ends up getting split.
That’s why there is a sense of urgency on both sides, along with a feeling of regret in many quarters over some of the slow-playing from both league and players alike in this negotiation. Add that to a shrinking calendar, and the outlines of how the two sides can reach an agreement begin to take shape.
But don’t take anyone’s single timeline or deadline as the gospel at this point. Right now, nobody truly knows when this thing needs to get done.
This week in women’s basketball
Loved this from Bria Felicien on forgotten 1960s women’s basketball history she’s tracked down.
Unrivaled to Barclays is a fascinating turn.
I always learn from Debbie Antonelli.
Claire Smith on Mel Greenberg.
Great job on this mock draft by Hunter Cruse.
And don’t miss Alexa Philippou on the latest WNBPA CBA proposal.
Five at The IX
Hear from Villanova head coach Denise Dillon and senior forward Denae Carter as they discuss the team’s hard-fought loss against UConn on Wednesday night, as well as how they plan to prepare for upcoming games.
| Mondays: Soccer |
| By: Annie Peterson, @AnnieMPeterson, AP Women’s Soccer |
| Tuesdays: Tennis |
| By: Joey Dillon, @JoeyDillon, Freelance Tennis Writer |
| Wednesdays: Basketball |
| By: Howard Megdal, @HowardMegdal, The IX Sports |
| Thursdays: Golf |
| By: Marin Dremock, @MDremock, The IX Sports |
| Fridays: Hockey |
| By: @TheIceGarden, The Ice Garden |
| Saturdays: Gymnastics |
| By: Jessica Taylor Price, @jesstaylorprice, Freelance Writer |