What to know
- The Toronto Tempo’s inaugural season has officially been confirmed as the WNBA has agreed on a new collective bargaining agreement with its players.
- In the new agreement, rookie salaries will start at $300,000 US, salary caps for the 2026 season will average $7 million, and revenue sharing jumps to 20 per cent.
- Toronto Tempo will play its first game against the Washington Mystics on May 8.
Women’s basketball fans rejoice. The Toronto Tempo’s inaugural season has officially been greenlit.
On Wednesday, the Women’s National Basketball Association (WNBA) and its players finally signed a new collective bargaining agreement (CBA) just 51 days before tipoff.
The league and the player’s union, also known as the WNBPA, have been in talks day and night since March 10 to reach a new contract regarding minimum salaries, team salary caps, and revenue sharing, among other issues. Over the last eight days, the two sides have spent more than 100 hours in negotiations, according to the Associated Press.
A deal was finally reached late Wednesday night at 2:20 a.m after a 17-month stalemate.
Under the new CBA, the salary cap for each team will start at $7 million US, up from the $1.5 million cap under the previous CBA. Salaries for first-year players — or rookies — will start from $300,000 and the highest possible salary starts from $1.4 million.
In the agreement reached six years ago, the highest salary a player could earn was US$249,000 and the highest first-year player (rookie) salary capped at $78,000. In comparison, the salary for the number one National Basketball Association (NBA) draft pick sits at over $13 million.
Players also scored big when it comes to revenue sharing. Under the previous CBA, players have received less than 10 per cent of revenue, leading them to wear “Pay Us What You Owe Us” t-shirts during the 2025 All-Star Game practices. NBA players, for comparison, receive roughly 51 per cent of revenue shares.
The new CBA promises players an average of 20 per cent total revenue across the length of the deal. It’s a huge jump from the WNBA’s original offer of 15 per cent of gross revenue.
The new CBA stands currently as a verbal agreement. The formal terms still have to be ratified by the players and the WNBA’s board of governors.
For the Toronto Tempo, there’s still lots to get done before tipoff on May 8 against the Washington Mystics. There’s an expansion draft on April 6 and contract negotiations with players, most of whom are free agents at the moment.
