WNBA commissioner Cathy Engelbert said the league is pushing to finish collective bargaining talks “as quickly as we can,” then predicted the final agreement will be “historic,” according to a wire report early Monday. The comments came after negotiations stretched into the early hours in New York.
The league and WNBPA began a marathon session Sunday afternoon and went until around 3 a.m. ET Monday, the report said. Both sides planned to meet again later Monday as the talks rolled forward.
Engelbert said she does not know whether the delay will affect the 2026 season start, yet she pointed to the late-night hours as a sign both sides want to close the deal. Meanwhile, the league’s calendar keeps creeping closer.
Vegas timing matters
In Las Vegas, the labor standoff lands in the middle of a business boom. The Aces have set the league’s standard on the floor and their ticket demand has followed.
In a Jan. 21 team release tied to the 2026 schedule, the Aces said regular-season ticket memberships sold out for the third straight year, and the team said a limited number of tickets will be available later. Because of that sellout, the season membership pipeline is tight again even as other inventory can still surface through single-game releases and resale.
Resale inventory is already moving
On top of that, seats for the home opener are already on the secondary market. Resale listings for Phoenix Mercury at Las Vegas Aces on Saturday, May 9 at 12:30 p.m. at T-Mobile Arena show how fast demand has moved once the schedule hit.
After the opener, Las Vegas heads out for a four-game road swing, then returns home to face Los Angeles on May 21 at Michelob ULTRA Arena. The team said it expects that game to mark the Aces’ 50th straight sellout at “The House.”
So, the picture is clear: memberships are gone, resale is moving and the league is still negotiating the rules that shape pay and benefits. Because of that, the business side and the labor side are now moving on the same clock.
What is holding up a deal
Revenue sharing and housing remain the biggest issues, and WNBPA president Nneka Ogwumike has said players want both at the center of the next contract. Engelbert has called the talks complex, and she has pointed to major system and structure questions that negotiators still must resolve.
The league extended its deadline to March 10 to avoid losing regular-season games, but the sides missed it. Even so, they have kept the daily push going, and the overnight sessions show the urgency.
The calendar pressure is real
Key dates are close: the 2026 WNBA Draft is set for April 13, training camps open April 19 and the regular season begins May 8. With those markers near, Las Vegas stays near the front of the line because the Aces remain a flagship ticket in a growth market.
In other words, the crowds are here and the demand is moving. Now the league and union must land the agreement that defines what comes next.
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Dice City Sports editor Mark Hebert covers the Vegas Golden Knights, Las Vegas Raiders, Athletics, and UNLV baseball and softball. He has 24 years of journalism experience, is also a senior reporter at Exhibit City News, and previously covered the Dallas Stars and Texas Rangers. Follow him on X or connect on LinkedIn.
