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The WNBA is running out of time to avoid a labor standoff, and it seems like Halloween might bring more tricks than treats to the league. According to ESPN, the league has proposed a 30-day extension to continue collective bargaining negotiations with the WNBPA, as the current collective bargaining agreement (CBA) expires this Friday. Extensions aren’t new. The two sides agreed to a 60-day delay in 2019 before striking a new deal in January 2020, but this time, the atmosphere is far more tense. While the players’ union has not ruled out an extension “under the right circumstances,” sources told ESPN those conditions “do not yet exist.” Erin D. Drake, senior adviser and legal counsel to the WNBPA, recently said on the No Offseason podcast that she doesn’t expect an agreement by Halloween. “We’re not going to have a deal by the deadline,” Drake said, criticizing the league for “not matching the PA’s efforts.” The league, however, insists it’s doing its part — saying it made a formal proposal on October 1, and that the union only responded on Monday. At the heart of the stalemate is a familiar sticking point: money. Players want a revenue-sharing model that actually reflects the league’s growth — from attendance surges to record-breaking TV viewership — while the WNBA maintains the union hasn’t engaged “in any meaningful way” with its proposals. The PA fired back, saying the league’s offer “retreads a system that isn’t tied to the business and intentionally undervalues players.” Tensions have also boiled over publicly. Minnesota Lynx star Napheesa Collier recently called WNBA leadership “the worst in the world,” a sentiment echoed by union president Nneka Ogwumike and executive committee member Elizabeth Williams. A potential lockout would hit the league’s two expansion teams — the Toronto Tempo and Portland Fire — especially hard, putting their expansion draft plans on ice until a new CBA is signed.
