WNBA Contract Negotiations Create Uncertainty for Expansion Teams
As the WNBA and the players’ union negotiate a new contract for the 2026 season, uncertainty looms over the future. Even if they reach an agreement soon, implementing everything in time for the WNBA’s scheduled May 8 season start will be challenging.
The immediate focus is on the expansion draft for the Toronto Tempo and Portland Fire. These two new teams are currently scrambling for information to begin their team-building processes. The last expansion draft took place just over a year ago, involving the Golden State Valkyries, but that draft followed the previous collective bargaining agreement (CBA), and only one team participated.
That draft occurred in early December, allowing teams months to prepare their protected player lists. This gave the Valkyries a decent amount of time to evaluate those lists and make selections. In contrast, Toronto and Portland face a tight timeline and an unclear set of rules regarding player availability for the expansion draft.
Some of the primary rules from the Valkyries’ draft would still apply. However, the dynamics are different this time since two teams will be involved. Golden State previously had the flexibility to choose players without needing to worry about protecting those players from another team’s selection. This places both Toronto and Portland at a disadvantage, especially with the limited time they have to prepare.
The WNBA has had three prior expansion drafts in its 30-year history—during 1998, 1999, and 2000. The 1998 and ’99 drafts involved two teams, while the 2000 draft had four teams participating. In those earlier drafts, teams could only select one player from each existing team, while the 2000 draft allowed multiple player selections from the same team.
This historical context suggests that it’s likely only one player from each team will be available for the upcoming draft. However, with the current uneven number of teams, there will be fewer players available for each of the new teams.
This expansion draft is expected to bring significant changes and challenges. Without clarity on the date of the draft, the selection order, or the players who might be available, preparation for the new teams is complicated. Once a new CBA is in place, the league will probably prioritize scheduling the expansion draft, but competition will be fierce for the two new franchises.
