The WNBA’s 30th season is about to tip off, with fifteen teams and two new franchises expanding the schedule and creating more opportunities for players. A brand-new collective bargaining agreement has rewritten the league’s pay scale, and supermax contracts are getting signed across the league, an overdue correction for players who have been carrying the brand for years.
The 2026 regular season begins Friday, May 8, runs through September 24, and features 44 games per team, the most in WNBA history. Additional highlights include the AT&T WNBA All-Star Game at the United Center in Chicago on July 25, the FIBA World Cup with numerous players expected to represent their home countries in Germany from September 4-13, and the playoffs beginning back in the U.S. on September 27. This season arrives with a new top tier and a few quieter rebuilds taking shape underneath.
Opening weekend alone has the kind of storylines a marketing department would dream up. All fifteen teams will be in action, with three games tipping off Friday, May 8. The Toronto Tempo make their franchise debut at home, hosting the Washington Mystics at Coca-Cola Coliseum. The New York Liberty host the Connecticut Sun, and the Golden State Valkyries visit the Seattle Storm in the nightcap. Toronto’s debut carries the historical headline as the league’s first franchise outside the United States.
Saturday brings even more, highlighted by two especially intriguing matchups early in the day. The 2026 No. 1 overall pick Azzi Fudd joins former UConn teammate Paige Bueckers and the Dallas Wings as they head to Indianapolis to face Caitlin Clark and the Fever at noon CT. The defending champion Las Vegas Aces host the Phoenix Mercury at 2:30 p.m. CT in a 2025 Finals rematch.
The New CBA: The Money Just Changed
This is the single biggest financial reset in WNBA history, and it sits behind every storyline this season. The league and the Women’s National Basketball Players Association (WNBPA) reached an agreement on a new seven-year CBA back in March. The deal runs from 2026 through 2032, with a player opt-out after 2031.
The 2026 salary cap jumps from roughly $1.5 million to $7 million per team. The supermax rises from $249,244 in 2025 to $1.4 million in 2026. The standard max lands at $1.19 million. The league average climbs from about $120,000 to roughly $583,000, and the rookie minimum jumps to between $270,000 and $300,000, up from $66,079 last year. For the first time, the cap is tied to league revenue, meaning the structure scales as the business grows.
In real terms, the numbers are already showing up across the league.
Jackie Young became the league’s first million-dollar player when she re-signed with the Aces in early April. On April 15, A’ja Wilson re-signed with Las Vegas for three years and $5 million fully guaranteed, the richest deal in league history at the time. Her 2026 salary starts at $1.4 million, with the next two years scaling to 20 percent of the team’s cap.
Two days later, the Fever signed Aliyah Boston to a four-year, $6.3 million extension, which replaced Wilson’s as the largest total-value contract in WNBA history. Indiana’s Kelsey Mitchell signed a one-year supermax at $1.4 million, becoming the first million-dollar player in franchise history. Napheesa Collier also signed a one-year supermax with the Lynx at $1.4 million.
Rookies are benefiting as well. Azzi Fudd landed a fully guaranteed $500,000 in year one in Dallas and roughly $2.2 million across the four-year rookie scale, nearly seven times what Paige Bueckers earned as the 2025 No. 1 pick. Existing rookie deals were adjusted upward, with Caitlin Clark jumping from $78,066 in 2025 to roughly $530,000 in 2026 entering year three.
The CBA also introduced EPIC, Exceptional Performance on Initial Contract, which allows rookie-scale players who have already earned All-WNBA or MVP honors to convert the fourth year of their deal into a three-year extension at max or supermax levels. Boston was the first to use it, with Clark and Bueckers next in line.
Additional benefits, including league-provided housing through 2028, push the projected cap to around $11 million by the end of the deal, with a minimum salary of $380,000. The bottom line: the W is finally paying like a major league business, and every roster decision this offseason reflects it.
The 2026 Championship Futures Board
As of May 4 at DraftKings, the New York Liberty are the favorite at +220, followed by the Las Vegas Aces at +390, the Indiana Fever at +450, the Atlanta Dream at +650, and the Minnesota Lynx at +800. FanDuel lists the Liberty at +230, with similar but slightly longer pricing across the rest of the top tier.
Team-by-Team Highlight Reel
New York Liberty. The Liberty had the loudest offseason in the league. They retained Sabrina Ionescu, Jonquel Jones, and Breanna Stewart, then added three-time All-Star Satou Sabally on a multi-year deal. The roster looks complete, with Stewart’s health as the swing factor.
Las Vegas Aces. The reigning champs aren’t going anywhere. Las Vegas closed 2025 on a 16-game winning streak after sitting at 14-14 at the All-Star break, then dropped only three games in the postseason en route to another title. They need three wins to open 2026 to surpass the 2001 Sparks’ record of 18 straight regular-season wins. The chase starts May 9 against Phoenix.
Indiana Fever. Caitlin Clark is back, and Indiana is being priced like a true Finals contender. Kelsey Mitchell and Aliyah Boston headline a strong core, with the first real test coming Saturday at home against Dallas.
Atlanta Dream. The most aggressive move of the offseason came here. Atlanta acquired Angel Reese and kept its core intact. This is a team with legitimate top-three potential.
Minnesota Lynx. The Lynx had the best record in the league last year but will open 2026 without Napheesa Collier, who is recovering from ankle surgery. A strong supporting group will carry things until her expected return in June. A healthy Collier late in the season changes everything.
Phoenix Mercury. Alyssa Thomas is back, but Phoenix lost Sabally and now sits at +3000. Still a dangerous team, especially in a playoff setting.
Dallas Wings. Bueckers and Fudd reunite in the same backcourt, giving Dallas one of the most intriguing young duos in the league. At +3000, the upside is clear if things click early.
Los Angeles Sparks. At +1400, the market is expecting a leap. They host Las Vegas on May 10 in an early test.
Golden State Valkyries. The Valkyries became the first expansion team to reach the playoffs in their inaugural season in 2025. Year two opens in Seattle.
Seattle Storm, Chicago Sky, Washington Mystics. All three are in varying stages of a rebuild, with young rosters beginning to take shape.
Toronto Tempo, Portland Fire. Both expansion teams sit in the +25000 to +40000 range and that seems about right.
Connecticut Sun. This is the final season in Uncasville before relocating to Houston. A farewell tour begins May 8 in Brooklyn.
What I’m Watching This Weekend
A new season means a clean slate. The Liberty may be the best roster on paper, the Aces remain the most playoff-tested, and the Fever carry massive upside if Clark stays healthy. Atlanta looks ready to push into that top tier, Washington is building something quietly, and Dallas has early chemistry after a strong preseason showing.
The business side matters too. The new CBA fuels star power, gives players more leverage, and puts more money in play than ever. That changes how teams build, how players move, and how this league looks going forward.
In what feels like the most anticipated season this league has had in years, I like Atlanta and Dallas to be there at the end.
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