January is usually an exciting time for WNBA fans, as it is the month when official conversations about a new season begin to take shape. But this year, things feel a little different.
While fans won’t be short on women’s basketball action with Unrivaled Season 2Â set to tip off soon, the WNBA’s biggest focus right now is something happening off the court. It is the ongoing CBA talks. Amid all this uncertainty, many are wondering when the 2026 WNBA free agency actually starts.
The 2026 WNBA Free Agency Dates Might Be Affected
Last year, WNBA free agency kicked off on Jan. 1, when teams started extending qualifying offers to core-eligible or reserved players. Then came Jan. 21. It was when teams were finally able to sit down and begin negotiating with players.
By Feb. 1, players started putting pen to paper and signing contracts with their teams. It was a pretty straightforward process with clear timelines that everyone could follow.
This year, though? The official dates for the 2026 free agency period still haven’t been announced. Most people expect things to follow a similar pattern to last year, but nothing’s set in stone yet. There’s a good reason for that hesitation. The uncertainty started from the ongoing CBA negotiations between the WNBA and the WNBPA.
This whole saga kicked off in late 2024. The WNBPA made the bold decision to opt out of their existing agreement, which triggered negotiations for a fresh deal that would start after the 2025 season ends. Players made one thing clear. They wanted higher salaries, a bigger slice of the league’s revenue pie, and better benefits overall.
Everyone thought they’d hammer out a deal by Oct. 31, 2025. That deadline passed with no agreement. So they moved it to Nov. 30. Still nothing. Both sides then agreed to a six-week extension and set Jan. 9Â as their new target date.
Reporter Madeline Kenney recently shared an update from Breanna Stewart, the New York Liberty star and WNBPA vice president.
“We are not coming to an agreement by tomorrow, I can tell you that. We’re just going to continue to negotiate in good faith,” Stewart shared during the interview.
Stewart also addressed the elephant in the room. It is the possibility of a strike. If we see, she explained that while calling for a strike isn’t something players are planning to do right away, it’s definitely still on the table if these negotiations keep dragging on without real progress.
Back in December, reports emerged about what’s actually being discussed. Player salaries for 2026 could jump to an average of over $500,000, with even the lowest-paid players earning more than $225,000. The proposals also included bumping the salary cap up to $5 million for 2026. This also included future increases linked directly to how well the league’s doing financially.
So how exactly could these CBA talks mess with the free agency timeline?
It is simple. Everything’s up for negotiation right now. The current rules and structures aren’t guaranteed to stick around. Players are pushing for a truly transformative deal. This means everything gets reconsidered once they sort out the money stuff.
They could completely eliminate restricted free agency. The league’s core player system might get tossed out entirely, or maybe just tweaked with different limits, or replaced with something totally new to help teams keep their star players. The whole “Reserved” player status might get restructured, or the number of years required might change.
It all comes down to what happens on Jan. 9 when the WNBA and WNBPA meet.