The times are finally changing for the WNBA athletes. Or at least, it appears to be. As the CBA fiasco has been going on for months now, the players seem to have reached a boiling point. Recently, Napheesa Collier clarified that she would prefer sitting out if the players’ demands were not met.
Additionally, with the CBA deal not sorted yet, the players are looking into an uncertain future. After all, most of the WNBA athletes do not have the off-court presence of Angel Reese or Caitlin Clark. Thankfully, there seems to finally be a light at the end of the tunnel. In a recent CBA proposal, the authority has included housing for the players.
Did WNBA Finally Cave In To The Players’ Demands?
One of their previous proposals did not have provisions for housing. And this offended the WNBA athletes significantly. In fact, names like Natasha Cloud had quite a strong reaction, where she publicly called out the league.
However, in a recent report from ESPN’s Alexa Philippou, the WNBA has reportedly submitted a new counterproposal on Friday. And it does include the players’ housing, which was missing from its previous proposals.
“The WNBA’s latest proposal includes guaranteeing housing for all players in 2026, sources told ESPN,” wrote Philippou on X.
The WNBA's latest proposal includes guaranteeing housing for all players in 2026, sources told ESPN
— Alexa Philippou (@alexaphilippou) February 21, 2026
Aside from a tweak in how team expenses are calculated, its revenue sharing model was unchanged from the league's previous proposal, a source saidhttps://t.co/uNBks8s0vv
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Reports suggest that the league will guarantee housing in 2026, but it plans to phase out the provision in the following years of the proposed deal. Following 2026, athletes who are on their applicable minimum salary, along with those with zero service, will be entitled to a one-bedroom apartment in 2027 and 2028. On the contrary, developmental players will get studio apartments throughout the duration of the deal.
Meanwhile, as the recent development might ease things out a bit, the major questions still linger.
Will The WNBA Grant A Favorable Revenue-Sharing To The Players?
The league had proposed multiple deals in the past. But most of them did not align with what the players’ union asked for. The WNBPA has demanded a 31% share of gross revenue. They also proposed a starting point of 28% in the first year with an average salary cap of $10.5 million.
Soon after the proposal became public, the WNBA dismissed it as “unrealistic.” The authorities pointed out that abiding by the union’s plans would result in an estimated $460 million loss.
Thus, despite including housing, the revenue-sharing dilemma still remains. With just a few tweaks, the new proposal also contains more or less the same CBA clauses as before. And with less than 100 days to go for the scheduled start of the 2026 season, things are really looking bleak.