🙌 Layup Lines: WE'RE SO BACK

Happy Wednesday and welcome back to Layup Lines, your quick recap of what’s going on in the WNBA.

• Sit down, settle in and have that third cup of coffee — the league and its players have agreed on a new CBA, meaning the W is going to be back for its 30th season this summer.

This 479 word newsletter should take less than 2 minutes to read.

😅 100+ hours later

• It took months of consternation, thinly-veiled shots on social media and 100+ hours of marathon negotiation sessions, but the WNBA and the Players’ Association verbally agreed on terms for a new CBA this morning around 3am. Though details are still being released, it seems like a deal was reached in time for the 2026 season to move along as scheduled.

  • The key point is that according to ESPN, players are expected to earn the league's first $1 million salaries within a system directly tied to revenue growth for the first time in history.

  • In a statement, WNBAPA President Nneka Ogwumike said average annual compensation is expected to be above $500,000 and that the deal, “redefines what it means to be a professional in this league.”

  • There will be many finer points to discuss soon, but money was always the big sticking point. Remember, the league’s highest salary last year was just $270k. If the new average compensation is almost double that, it changes absolutely everything about the WNBA going forward.

• More details from The Athletic, Front Office Sports and Underdog.

📆 Quick look at the calendar

Well, April is now going to be bonkers.

• April 1-6: Expected expansion drafts for new franchises in Toronto and Portland

• April 3-5: Women’s NCAA Final Four

• April 7-18: Expected free agency period

• April 13: 2026 WNBA Rookie Draft

• April 19: Training camp starts

• April 25: First preseason game

• May 8: Opening night for the 2026 season

🤞 Personal update to go

• You cannot imagine the angst I would’ve felt moving to within a 15 minute walk of the Barclays Center right before the next WNBA season was cancelled. The complaining would’ve been unbearable, the mud in my shoes extra wet. I am now truly so stoked for this season.

• In terms of what today’s news means for Layup Lines, keep on holding on. I’m in the interview process with outlets that offer two things this newsletter doesn’t (health insurance and income), but could potentially be able to keep writing it depending on those interviews. We’ll see.

• Are you rich, loose with your money and willing to pay me to cover the league this year from Barclays? Just reply to this email!

Layup Lines is written 100% by a human being. I very much appreciate you reading. Enjoying this newsletter? Send it to a friend! It’s the only way we can keep writing it.

— Everett Cook, Founder & Editor