A new collective bargaining agreement
The Women’s National Basketball Association has ratified a collective bargaining agreement that delivers the most substantial salary growth in league history, allowing a growing number of its stars to remain in the United States through the traditional offseason. Players such as Gabby Williams can now stay stateside thanks to the newly formed 3‑on‑3 league Unrivaled, which was launched by Napheesa Collier and Breanna Stewart.
The agreement lifts the maximum contract to levels that surpass many overseas options, a shift that is especially striking when contrasted with the modest earnings of a decade ago, when first‑round draft picks earned roughly $55,000 and rookies such as Kiah Stokes received about $40,000. Even Breanna Stewart, who earned under $60,000 as a rookie in Seattle, now finds the domestic market more lucrative than many foreign contracts.
For many European athletes the calculus has changed dramatically. Players such as Cecilia Zandalasini, who spent years splitting time between Italy, Turkey and the WNBA, now face a choice between a U.S. schedule that will stretch to 50 games next season and new transnational ventures like Unrivaled and the forthcoming Project B, a six‑team league slated for a 2027 launch across Europe, Asia and Latin America. Iliana Rupert and Janelle Salaun have long balanced WNBA seasons with EuroLeague commitments, while Justė Jocytė turned professional in Europe at 14 before joining the Valkyries, believing that improved salaries will accelerate the trend of European stars joining the WNBA.
Expanding the schedule
The WNBA will expand its season from 44 to 50 games next year, shrinking the offseason and making it harder to fit in another full campaign abroad. This compression forces athletes to reconsider long‑standing patterns of playing overseas during the winter months, a pattern that has defined the careers of many international stars for over a decade.
As the league’s calendar tightens, the interplay between domestic growth and global competition promises to reshape the sport’s talent pipeline, with the next generation of international players eyeing both the heightened U.S. pay scale and the allure of diverse playing experiences abroad.