The WNBA and its players are into a second week of exhaustive negotiations on a new collective bargaining agreement in New York City. Still, Elle Duncan is sure a new contract will be struck eventually.
Duncan, who hosted WNBA and NCAA women’s basketball coverage for ESPN before jumping to Netflix and the USA Network earlier this year, cited sources around the league to confirm that the two sides will eventually agree on a new CBA.
The players previously authorized a strike, and some have grown concerned that the league would have to cancel all or part of its season.
Duncan’s more optimistic comments came in an appearance on The Dan Le Batard Show ahead of the NCAA women’s basketball tournament.
“I have my sources, too. There will be a season. They will get a deal done,” Duncan said. “It’s just a matter of, at this point, we’re just dealing with timelines.”
Talks were relatively quiet for many months after the conclusion of the 2025 season, but have heated up in March. The league imposed two deadlines within the past week that it said needed to be met for the season to start on time for Opening Night on May 8. There is still no CBA, as the players reportedly continue to push for their targets on revenue sharing and housing.
Recently, prominent sports commentators have cautioned the players against being overly aggressive. ESPN’s Rebecca Lobo said it could be a bad look for players not to accept substantial raises that would place the average salary around $500,000 and max salaries in the seven-figure range. And TNT’s Charles Barkley urged the players to take a deal rather than fight a losing battle against the wealthy owners.
But Duncan offered perhaps the strongest vote of confidence of anyone in media so far, even going so far as to say she would put her mortgage on a new CBA emerging:
“I would not be surprised if they had to push the season by a couple of weeks, but I would put my mortgage on the fact that there will be a season this year. It’s just a matter of when.”
After finalizing and signing the new CBA, the league must conduct an expansion draft for new franchises in Portland and Toronto. Then, it will open free agency and, in April, the collegiate player draft. Training camp is slated to start April 19, before the first games of the season in the second week of May.
About Brendon Kleen
Brendon is a Media Commentary staff writer at Awful Announcing. He has also covered basketball and sports business at Front Office Sports, SB Nation, Uproxx and more.