The moment we've all been waiting for has finally arrived. In the early hours of Wednesday, the WNBA and WNBPA finally reached a verbal agreement for a new collective bargaining agreement. After over a year of negotiations and more than 100 hours of in-person meetings this week, we now know we will have a 2026 WNBA season.
After the agreement, Cathy Engelbert told reporters that any impacts to the 2026 schedule were avoided. While the season will still begin on time, the offseason has virtually been at a standstill. This time last year, the Golden State Valkyries' expansion draft had already taken place, and some of the biggest names in free agency were already signed to new teams.
If the next month of women's basketball wasn't busy enough with March Madness, it just got a whole lot busier. Here's everything we know about the upcoming WNBA events, including the free agency period, WNBA Draft, and expansion drafts — all according to a timeline previously shared with general managers.
Expansion Draft — Between April 1 and April 6
Two new teams are joining the WNBA this season — the Portland Fire and Toronto Fire. Currently, these two teams have zero players that belong to them; obviously, that needs to change before May. The rules for these specific drafts are not confirmed yet, but we do have a rough idea based on last year's expansion draft. The Golden State Valkyries' expansion draft took place on December 6, 2024. Roughly, each team in the W was able to protect five players from their roster at the time. The Valkyries then chose from the pool of unprotected players.
We can now expect the Fire and Tempo's expansion drafts to take place in less than 3 weeks.
Free Agency — April 7 through April 18
Free agency will possibly be the most interesting factor in all of this. Last year, teams were able to make qualifying offers and core player designations from January 11-20. This process for each team will start nearly four months late this season, as offers will be sent out on April 7 and 8. The negotiating period between players and these teams will be from April 9 through April 11.
Players will be able to sign during the probable signing period of April 12 through April 18. Last season, teams were able to begin negotiations on January 21, 2025, and players were able to start signing contracts on February 1, 2025
To put it into perspective, this time last year, some of the biggest free agents had already been signed to new teams. DeWanna Bonner had signed with the Indiana Fever on February 1, 2025. The Alyssa Thomas trade, sending her to Connecticut, was ready to be finalized on January 28, 2025. And finally, Tina Charles signed with Connecticut on February 2, 2025.
WNBA Draft — April 13
Luckily, the WNBA avoided having to postpone the 2026 WNBA Draft. Last year, the draft took place on April 14. So, we're right around the same date this year. I am sure some big college names are taking a deep breath before starting their March Madness runs. They no longer have the lingering thought of what their professional careers would look like, or when they would even begin, if a new CBA were not agreed upon.
The only thing that might be different is that many free agents could still not be signed by the 13th of April, as the signing period only opens the day before. So, the draftees will know who their team is, but maybe not who all their teammates are just yet.
You can tune into the 2026 WNBA Draft on Monday, April 13 at 7:30 p.m. ET on ESPN.
Training Camp: Begins April 19
WNBA Season Opener: May 8
Training camp and the 2026 season opening dates were also left untouched. It is typical for training camp to start roughly two weeks before the official season kicks off. Tip-off of the much-anticipated 2026 WNBA season will be on Friday, May 8, at 7:30 with two games. The New York Liberty will host the Connecticut Sun, while the Toronto Tempo will host the Washington Mystics.
There's a lot to look forward to over the next month and a half in the WNBA world. We could see a lot of changes, with new faces in new cities. I know one thing is for sure: before the chaos of free agency begins, fans are taking a deep breath today, knowing we'll be getting a summer full of the WNBA.