Caitlin Clark ‘confident’ the WNBA, players union will break stalemate in CBA negotiations ahead of 2026 season

February 2, 2026

The WNBA and the players association still have yet to agree on a new collective bargaining agreement ahead of the start of next season, but Indiana Fever star Caitlin Clark is hopeful things will be settled here soon.

Clark joined NBC as a contributor for its “Sunday Night Basketball” pregame show ahead of the Los Angeles Lakers’ matchup with the New York Knicks at Madison Square Garden on Sunday. Naturally, she was asked about the state of the WNBA amid the stalled negotiations — especially since there is an in-person meeting scheduled for Monday about the issue in New York.

While it’s been slow going so far, and multiple deadlines have been missed, Clark thinks things are almost over.

The league and the players union have been negotiating a new CBA for more than a year now, after players first opted out of the last one in October 2024. The sides have agreed to two extensions and then they reached a moratorium agreement days after the second one passed. That put a hold on free agency, but allowed league business to otherwise continue in the meantime.

The main issue is the entire salary structure of the WNBA. Players want a revenue-sharing structure that links their salaries to the business and a salary cap driven by revenue. The most recent proposal from the WNBA included an uncapped revenue-sharing model and a maximum salary of around $1.3 million. The supermax contract in 2025 was less than $250,000. Clark, the former Iowa star who is gearing up for her third season in the WNBA, made $78,066 last season. She signed a four-year, $338,056 rookie contract after being selected No. 1 overall in 2024. yahoo!