The league sits at the precipice of a pivotal financial fork in the road in the form of negotiations for a new collective bargaining agreement. The WNBA and its players boast enviable momentum and a great product. They can’t afford to squander those favorable conditions with squabbling and a work stoppage in 2026.

WNBA CBA negotiations continued from Indianapolis leading up to All-Star weekend, but a lack of progress in talks continues to leave players frustrated.

The WNBA's current CBA expires on Halloween, and current negotiations between the WNBA and the players' union do not seem to be going well. The union already denied the first proposal sent in by the WNBA about a month ago, and negotiations didn't get anywhere in the first meeting between the two sides in Indianapolis.

Each of the three newest expansion teams joins the league paying a record $250 million expansion fee. The new Golden State expansion team has been an immediate success and is now worth over $500 million, according to Sportico, after paying just a $50 million expansion fee to enter the league. That’s a WNBA-record valuation, and the union knows it.

Before the paid appearances, fashion moments and boozy parties, WNBA players are huddling up for a critical collective bargaining meeting ahead of the All-Star Game in Indianapolis. On Thursday afternoon,

The WNBA’s collective bargaining agreement is set to expire Oct. 31. If the league and players don’t reach a new deal by then, a work stoppage could begin.

The WNBA appears headed toward a labor stoppage after this season as negotiations between the league and the WNBPA have been lagging up to this point.

The NFL Players Association will appeal an arbitrator's decision from January finding that NFL owners didn't collude in violation of the collective bargaining agreement, but the appeal will need to overcome fact-finding that suggests there was no collusion.