NEW YORK — The WNBA looks promising heading into the offseason after a banner year with record ratings, attendance and a first-time champion in New York.
Soon after the confetti stopped falling on the sellout crowd at Brooklyn’s Barclays Center, where the Liberty beat the Minnesota Lynx in overtime during a decisive Game 5 of the 2024 WNBA Finals last Sunday night, the league and its players turned their attention to 2025.
Less than 24 hours later and days before the Liberty’s championship parade Thursday, the players’ union opted out of the current collective bargaining agreement. The decision was expected with a new 11-year media rights deal worth approximately $200 million per year beginning in 2026. The players are looking for a bigger share of the revenue pie among other things, including pensions and higher salaries.
The current CBA will still be in effect throughout next season, but both sides would like to get a deal done sooner rather than later. Labor negotiations are always intense, but those associated with the WNBA have much to be excited about.
The league will increase the number of regular-season games to 44 next year, when the title round of the playoffs will become a best-of-seven series for the first time. The WNBA will hold an expansion draft in December for the Golden State Valkyries, who will become the league’s 13th active franchise. And in 2026, the league will add franchises in Portland, Oregon, and Toronto — the Canadian city will take it international for the first time — with at least one other team starting in either 2027 or 2028.