NEW YORK — The WNBA has offered a 30-day extension to players to continue negotiations for a new collective bargaining agreement, two people familiar with the decision told The Associated Press on Tuesday night.
The current CBA is set to expire on Friday and tensions have been rising in recent weeks as the sides try to work toward a new deal. The league is willing to push back the deadline, according to the people who spoke on condition of anonymity because no official announcement has been made.
An extension would give both 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.
It’s unclear if the union will accept the extension.
ESPN was the first to report the extension offer.
WNBPA senior advisor and legal counsel Erin D. Drake said on a podcast published by The Athletic that it “takes two to tango” and a deal wouldn’t be reached by Friday.
The league responded with a statement rebuking any notion it wasn’t operating in good faith.
“We urge the Players Association to spend less time disseminating public misinformation and more time joining us in constructive engagement across the table,” the statement said.
The sides have had meetings over the past few weeks, including once in New York earlier this month, according to a person familiar with the situation. The person spoke to the AP on condition of anonymity because details about the meeting were not publicly discussed.
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.