Caitlin Clark has had enough of the WNBA’s CBA stalemate as 2026 season hangs in balance originally appeared on The Sporting News. Add The Sporting News as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
The WNBA’s deadline is Tuesday to agree to a new collective bargaining agreement while preserving the entirety of the 2026 season. And as of Monday afternoon, no such agreement appears imminent
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The labor rigmarole has pushed Indiana Fever guard Caitlin Clark to her limit.
Clark, who is set to debut for the United States national team this week in the FIBA Women’s World Cup Qualifying Tournament, told reporters from USA Basketball training camp that she would “love to see” the WNBA and the Women’s National Basketball Players Association “get in a room and iron it out and shake hands” in order to preserve a full-length 44-game season for 2026.
“That’s how business is,” Clark said from Miami. “You look each other in the eye, you shake hands, you respect both sides.”
WNBPA vice president Breanna Stewart, fresh off winning Unrivaled as a member of the 3-on-3 league’s Mist BC, says that the players “want to have the season.” But in New York, before she heads out to play overseas, Stewart cautioned that the “right numbers” had to be in the deal.
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In particular, the players’ union has been pushing for enhanced gross revenue sharing with the league.
“We want the deal to be done,” Stewart said. “We want to have the season. We just need to find the right numbers that reflect it.”
