Breanna Stewart 50/50 on whether WNBA season will start without delay as soft deadline nears

MIAMI — The ongoing WNBA collective bargaining agreement negotiations were the topic of discussion among players Saturday on the bus ride to the Heat’s practice facility for USA Basketball practice.Join Post Sports+ for exciting subscriber-only features, including real-time texting with Madeline Kenney about all things Liberty and WNBA.

The main point?“Just that we haven’t solved any issues,” Caitlin Clark said after practice.“I feel like the conversations get very heavy at times.”The WNBA highlighted Tuesday as a soft deadline for when the league and the Women’s National Basketball Players Association must agree to terms on a deal or risk delayed start to the 2026 season.Clark said she remains “confident” that the two sides will eventually find common ground.Meanwhile, Breanna Stewart said she is uncertain whether the upcoming season will start on time.“Honestly, I’m 50/50,” she said.

“I just think it’ll be tight.And hopefully, we do come to a resolution sooner than later.”The WNBA and players union remain at odds over revenue share percentages, salary cap, core designation and league prioritization, among other things.

The two sides have a $3.5 million difference in projected 2026 salary caps and are roughly 11 percent apart on revenue share.Negotiations have intensified in recent weeks after the league waited about six weeks to respond to the WNBA’s proposal at the end of last year.Clark said she wasn’t sure whether sending proposals back and forth every few days was “the greatest solution.”“I don’t understand why we don’t just get in a room and iron it out and shake hands,” Clark said.

“That’s how business is.You look each other in the eye, you shake hands, you respect both sides.

For me, that’s what I would love to see.Obviously, I understand everybody has different schedules.

Everybody is in a million places in the world, but we’re really down to less than a week.We need to get face-to-face and ...