By DOUG FEINBERG
NEW YORK (AP) — The WNBA and players union have agreed to a 30-day extension to continue negotiations for a new collective bargaining agreement, a person familiar with the decision said Thursday night.
The league offered on Tuesday to push back the deadline and on Thursday the union accepted, the person told The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because no official announcement has been made.
The current CBA was set to expire on Friday and tensions have been rising in recent weeks as the sides try to work toward a new deal.
The new Nov. 30 deadline gives the sides more time to come up with a new deal that would be transformational for the players in terms of salary. In 2019, when the last CBA deal had expired, the sides agreed to a 60-day extension and eventually ratified the current CBA in January 2020.
The Athletic was the first to report the extension.
The sides have had meetings over the past few days, including in New York on Thursday.
Had an extension not been reached by Friday, the sides would have had three options: let things continue as is, have the players go on strike or the owners lock them out. A strike or lockout didn’t really make sense for either side to do.
Players have already been paid for the past season and they have health insurance through April 30, 2026. There are no major events for the league on the immediate horizon until an expansion draft for new teams Portland and Toronto. The expansion draft for Golden State took place last December.
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The players exercised their right to opt out of the current CBA last year with hopes of getting, among other things, increased revenue sharing, higher salaries, improved benefits and a softer salary cap.
The WNBA’s offers to this point have clearly not been to the players’ liking, although it is unclear how far apart the sides are in terms of salary parameters. WNBA Commissioner Cathy Engelbert said during the WNBA Finals that the league — like the players — wants a “transformative deal” done with significant increases to salary and benefits.
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