Fans can sense a positive outcome from the ongoing CBA discussions, as both parties are providing hopeful updates for the first time. They engaged in 40+ hours of face-to-face meetings and reached an agreement on a few points, suggesting an early resolution to the CBA discussions. While Cathy Engelbert mentioned that there is still work pending on the finalization of the CBA deal, she once again put forward a new deadline for signing the CBA agreement.
Earlier, the WNBA announced March 10 as the deadline date, but now, with ongoing meetings and exchange of offers, the new date, as per the commissioner, is March 16.
Cathy Engelbert Set New Deadline For CBA Discussions
WNBA players reported real progress toward a landmark new CBA agreement after the first two days of meeting, but since then, the movement has again slowed down, and to put the parties on alert, the WNBA Commissioner has now given a new deadline date.
Commenting on the new date, Engelbert said, “I’ve never been a betting woman in my life, and I’m not going to start now. But we have to get a deal done by Monday. We have to get it done without disrupting some part of the fact that we’ve got to run this two-team expansion (draft). We have to get expansion going. (We’ve) got to get free agency going. We gotta get the college draft.”
Cathy Engelbert just spoke with the media, reiterating that progress has been made, including on a lot of smaller issues.
— Alexa Philippou (@alexaphilippou) March 14, 2026
There's urgency to try to get a deal done by Monday, she said, to avoid any disruption to the preseason schedule, including training camp and preseason games
The WNBA has the WNBA Draft on April 13, and training camps will start from the last week of April to allow teams to prepare for the May 8 season openers. Considering the amount of time and amount of work left, the league and PA must now pull up the deal well before the new deadline.
Scroll to continue reading
Trending WNBA News
The CBA confirmation would be a bigger achievement for the league and put the Engelbert in good faith. Yet there is concerning news surrounding her future with the league.
Cathy Engelbert’s Future Still In Danger
Right from the end of the 2025 regular season, there was widespread criticism from players, analysts, and fans of the league leadership. Adam Silver also accepted the need for ‘relationship building’, while analyst Elle Duncan clarifies the timeline for potential Engelbert replacement as WNBA commissioner.
Now with the CBA confirmations in sight, according to a Tuesday report from Tom Friend of Sports Business Journal, Engelbert is “likely” to exit as league commissioner. During earlier meetings, there was no direct eye contact between Napheesa Collier, who fired the first shot at the WNBA Commissioner, and Engelbert.
While this highlights the broken bridge between players and the commissioner, the four-month period worsens the situation, putting the commissioner’s position at risk.