New details have emerged about how the historic revenue sharing system agreed upon by the WNBA and its players' association works.
According to the long-form version of the agreement, which was obtained by ESPN following its completion on Friday, the salary cap is determined by taking a designated 20% of "Shared Basketball Revenue," which is defined as the sum of league and team revenues from the year prior.
The salary cap was set at a fixed $7 million for 2026. But for future years, differing percentages of league and team revenue constitute that 20% of SBR, and they change based on the year:
• For the 2027 cap, it means 30.25% of league revenue plus 12% of team revenue from 2026
• For 2028, 30.5% of league revenue plus 12% of team revenue from 2027
• For 2029, 30.5% of league revenue plus 12.25% of team revenue from 2028
• For 2030, 30.5% of league revenue plus 12.5% of team revenue from 2029
• For 2031 and 2032, 30.5% of league revenue plus 13% of team revenue from the year preceding.
The cap is additionally calculated by subtracting an assortment of benefits and is adjusted for prior year reconciliation amounts.
It cannot increase or decrease by more than 10% from the year prior (and for the 2027 cap, by more than 13% either direction). If there is excess revenue, it will be paid to the WNBA players on a proportional basis as determined by the union.
The long form also revealed that free agency will happen two weeks later than in previous years: Players cannot sign contracts until Feb. 16 in 2027 and Feb. 14 in subsequent years. Negotiations will now start on Feb. 4, while qualifying offers can be dealt out from Jan. 30 to Feb. 3.
Signings were allowed to start Feb. 1 under the previous CBA, with negotiations beginning Jan. 15.
The newly introduced veteran recognition payment also has a wrinkle that was added during the drafting and review process upon request of the players' association, a source told ESPN. Any player who retired before the 2026 season and won MVP will receive a $100,000 payment regardless of their years of service. Aside from those former MVPs, players with 12-plus years of service are the only ones eligible for that maximum payment.
The long-form agreement also elaborated on what player developmental contracts entail. Those contracts stipulate that the annual player development base salary is equal to $750 multiplied by the number of weeks in a regular season. Players also receive an active games bonus.
A player can be signed to a player development contract if they have fewer than four years of service, or fewer than six if they have played 1-160 minutes during the prior regular season. There's a limit on how many games they can appear in: 12 games or, as the season footprint increases, 25% of the regular season, whichever is greater.
Beginning with the 2027 season, rookie-scale salaries for first-round picks will be adjusted from the 2026 salaries based on the percentage change in the cap from the year prior; for second- and third-round picks, they will increase from the 2026 numbers by 4%. First-round rookie-scale salaries range from $500,000 to $289,133 in 2026, with all other picks earning $270,000.
Minimum salaries range from $270,000 to $300,000 in 2026 and reach about $380,000 by 2032. There is a provision allowing the WNBA and WNBPA to discuss modifications to the minimum salaries in case of significant salary cap increases.
The agreement is listed as becoming effective March 19 -- the day after terms of the deal were verbally agreed to after months of contentious negotiations. It will run through Jan. 15, 2033, though each side can opt out by Jan. 15, 2031, which would go into effect the following year. The previous deal expired Oct. 31, 2025, before the parties agreed to two extensions to continue negotiations.