WNBA fans can start making summer plans. The league has officially released tickets for July’s 2026 All-Star Game in Chicago.
Tipping off July 24th, festivities include Friday’s 3-Point Contest and Shooting Stars at Wintrust Arena. Those events lay the foundation for Saturday’s headliner at the United Center.
“The Chicago Sky are thrilled to welcome the 2026 WNBA All-Star game back to Chicago” Chicago Sky CEO and president Adam Fox said.
“We can’t wait to build on the success of the previous All-Star game and celebrate the explosive growth of the league.”
The annual matchup is set to take over the United Center for the first time. The WNBA will aim to fill the 20,000-seat arena — the NBA’s largest.
“We look forward to celebrating the game’s brightest stars, engaging WNBA fans around the world, and showcasing the energy of one of basketball’s most iconic cities,” said Commissioner Cathy Engelbert.
How to Buy 2026 WNBA All-Star Game Tickets
Fans can purchase individual tickets via Ticketmaster. Hospitality packages are also available from WNBA Experiences.
The WNBA’s valuation just hit a historic new gear. On Friday, the league finalized a massive 11-year, $3.1 billion TV deal with partners like Disney, NBC, and Amazon, skyrocketing its annual revenue to $281 million — nearly 6.5 times its previous mark.
The agreement, first confirmed by Front Office Sports, consolidates a broad portfolio of broadcast partners, including Disney (ABC/ESPN), NBCUniversal, Amazon Prime Video, Paramount (CBS), Scripps (ION), and USA Network. The $3.1 billion total was reached after the league secured a $2.2 billion foundational deal in July 2024 and subsequently added USA Sports while renewing contracts with Scripps and Paramount.
This financial level up comes as the league's global footprint reaches new heights. Ahead of the Toronto Tempo’s inaugural regular-season tip-off, Commissioner Cathy Engelbert revealed that Canadian WNBA League Pass subscriptions surged 50% year-over-year in 2025, proving the league is expanding on multiple fronts.
How to Watch the WNBA: 2026 National Broadcast Schedule and Streaming Partners
Fans can expect an unprecedented level of access starting with the 2026 season. The WNBA TV deal locks in 216 national games, covering more than 65% of the league's 330-game regular season schedule. The distribution breakdown highlights a multi-platform strategy:
- Scripps (ION): 50 games
- USA Network: 48 games
- Disney (ABC/ESPN): 30 games and major tentpole events
The postseason is also getting a fresh look. For the first time since 2000, a Disney-owned network will not hold exclusive rights to the WNBA Finals. Instead, the championship series will rotate among partners, with NBC and USA Network handling primary coverage.
WNBA TV Deal: Inside the Reset Clause and Expansion Potential
The shift to a multi-partner model (which includes Amazon Prime Video, Paramount+, and Peacock) brings the WNBA into the modern "streaming wars." While having games across numerous apps and cable channels can make discovery a "battle," Engelbert views this as a necessary byproduct of a competitive market. She noted that while fans may navigate multiple subscriptions, the increased investment from these media giants via the updated WNBA TV deal is what allows for enhanced "shoulder programming" and prime-time marketing.
With "re-set" provisions built in for 2028 and a new revenue-sharing model on the horizon, the league is positioned to keep rising alongside its viewership.
The WNBA is taking center stage, with a record 216 games broadcast nationally in 2026, including the Indiana Fever’s complete 44-game regular-season lineup — the most in league history.
The Fever is the first and only WNBA team with a full nationally broadcast schedule, as fans await superstar Caitlin Clark’s return from injury and a potential playoff push in Indianapolis.
The Dallas Wings rank second with 36 national games, after drafting Paige Bueckers (2025) and Azzi Fudd (2026) with back-to-back No. 1 picks. The 2024 champion New York Liberty will field 35 national games, while the 2025 champion Las Vegas Aces will field 33.
As part of the league’s blockbuster media deal, NBC will broadcast WNBA games for the first time in nearly 25 years. The network joins ESPN/ABC, CBS Sports/Paramount+, Amazon Prime Video, USA, ION, and NBA TV.
“The return of the WNBA to NBC Sports for the first time since 2002 is a milestone moment — not only for our platforms, but for the league and its fans,” NBC Sports president Rick Cordella said.
“The WNBA’s unprecedented lineup of linear and streaming partners will shine a light on must-see matchups and the remarkable skills the WNBA’s stars provide each time they step on the court,” commissioner Cathy Engelbert said.
How to Watch the 2026 WNBA Schedule's National Broadcasts
The WNBA’s opening day triple header tips off on May 8th, live on ION.
Monday’s WNBA Draft viewership delivered, after an average of 1.5 million viewers tuned in to ESPN’s coverage — marking the second-most watched event on record.
Viewership peaked at 1.79 million near the end of the first around, well after Dallas selected UConn’s Azzi Fudd No. 1 overall.
Ratings were up 20% over 2025, falling second only to 2024, when 2.45 million saw Indiana take Iowa’s Caitlin Clark with its first pick.
Monday’s numbers reinforce the women’s basketball boom’s endurance, arriving shortly after ESPN aired the second-most watched March Madness in network history.
Prior to 2024, WNBA draft viewership peaked at just 601,000 in 2004, while the last three years remain the only broadcasts to clear seven figures.
The 2026 WNBA Draft also ranked as the night’s top program among male-identified adults aged 25 to 54 and all adults from 18 to 34 — providing a captive audience as the league heads into its 30th season.
"The past 30 years have been about building the foundation. The next 30 are about scaling the game, unlocking what's possible for the entirety of women's basketball and women's sports," WNBA Commissioner Cathy Engelbert told reporters in New York.
"Season 30 arrives at what I think is the perfect moment... this starts a new chapter, and I can't wait for what's ahead."
The WNBA is looking abroad, with Commissioner Cathy Engelbert announcing the league’s interest in staging international WNBA games as women’s basketball booms worldwide.
“We’re heavily looking at that,” Engelbert said of moving either preseason or regular-season matchups overseas. “Next year we expect that we’ll do something outside of North America as a true global game.”
The WNBA has set preseason games outside the US, but hasn’t leaned into the practice as aggressively as other leagues like the NFL and NBA.
Detroit and San Antonio met for a 2004 preseason matchup in Monterrey, Mexico, before Atlanta took on Team GB in Manchester, England in 2011. Later, Minnesota and Chicago first tested the Canadian waters with a 2023 preseason game.
In 2025, Atlanta Dream and Seattle Storm played the WNBA's first regular-season international game in Vancouver, setting the stage for 2026 expansion team Toronto’s debut.
"It was an incredible crowd tonight," then-Seattle guard Skylar Diggins said after the Storm's 80-78 victory up North.
"First time in Vancouver, they showed a lot of love. We just love coming out here, playing in front of this electric [crowd]. I know it was a Dream home game, but it felt like a Storm home game. We really leaned on them tonight to help us lock in that victory."
The WNBA invited 15 top prospects to attend the 2026 WNBA Draft in New York City, with five NCAA champion UCLA Bruins headlining this year's class.
UCLA center Lauren Betts leads the invitee list, after earning Most Outstanding Player honors in the Bruins' national championship victory. She joins teammates Kiki Rice, Gabriela Jaquez, Gianna Kneepkens, and Angela Dugalić as the program's draft representatives.
UConn guard Azzi Fudd, TCU guard Olivia Miles, and LSU guard Flau'jae Johnson round out the top college prospects. Spain National Team center Awa Fam and French forward Nell Angloma lead the international talent pool.
South Carolina is sending three players to the 2026 WNBA Draft: guards Raven Johnson and Ta'Niya Latson plus center Madina Okot from Kenya. TCU's Spanish forward Marta Suárez and Ole Miss forward Cotie McMahon complete this year's roster.
Dallas holds the top draft pick following November's lottery, with Minnesota selecting second while Seattle takes third. Washington subsequently picks fourth, with Chicago Sky fifth, and 2026 expansion teams Toronto and Portland choosing sixth and seventh.
Invited players will showcase their fashion on the WNBA's iconic Orange Carpet before heading to the Empire State Building for a lighting ceremony celebrating the 2026 Draft.
The draft-night festivities mark the culmination of stellar college careers for most invitees, with several earning All-America honors and national Player of the Year recognition during the 2025-26 season.
How to Watch the 2026 WNBA Draft
Draft-night coverage tips off on Monday afternoon with the WNBA Orange Carpet Special at 5:30 PM ET on ESPN2.
WNBA Commissioner Cathy Engelbert will then announce the picks starting at 7 PM ET, live on ESPN.
After more than 100 hours of marathon talks, the WNBA and WNBPA's battle to lock in a new CBA is reportedly nearing its end.
"We have aligned on key elements of a new collective bargaining agreement together," WNBA commissioner Cathy Engelbert told reporters early Wednesday morning. "We still need to finalize a formal term sheet, but the progress made in these discussions marks a transformative step forward."
"We're proud of ourselves," said WNBPA president Nneka Ogwumike. "We always told you all we were going to stand on business, and that's what this looks like."
After blowing past multiple league deadlines, Engelbert confirmed that this week's deal will keep the schedule intact for the 2026 WNBA season.
CBA reportedly secures 20% revenue share, 500% salary bumps
While all formal terms are still in the finalization process, early details of the new CBA emerged late Wednesday morning.
According to ESPN, the league's 2026 salary cap will be $7 million — a nearly 500% increase over 2025's $1.5 million cap.
The average player salary also saw a 500% increase to $600,000, with the WNBA minimum exceeding $300,000 after some athletes banked a mere $66,000 in 2025.
The league's top stars, on the other hand, will be able to earn upwards of $1.4 million under the new WNBA supermax — almost six times the $249,244 salary last season's elite players could garner.
Even more, the incoming CBA will reportedly enshrine an average revenue share of nearly 20% — a massive win for the players union on what became the primary wedge issue throughout the negotiating process.
As for next steps, the players and the WNBA board of governors now need to ratify the agreement before operational moratoriums can lift.
Once the CBA is signed, the WNBA will have less than two months to hold a free agency period and the league's April 13th college draft — as well as a two-team expansion draft to stock the incoming Portland Fire and Toronto Tempo — all before preseason training begins.
Assuming all goes according to plan, the 2026 WNBA regular season will tip off on Friday, May 8th.
The WNBA and WNBPA came together at the CBA negotiating table on Tuesday, meeting for what became a 12-hour bargaining session stretching into Wednesday's early hours — and failing to reach a deal.
Union president Nneka Ogwumike led the player contingent at the midtown Manhattan marathon meeting, joined by WNBPA VPs Breanna Stewart and Alysha Clark, and treasurer Brianna Turner.
New York Liberty owner Clara Wu Tsai also reportedly joined the CBA talks alongside WNBA commissioner Cathy Engelbert and head of league operations Bethany Donaphin.
The in-person sit-down came on the heels of the league's March 10th deadline, set to preserve the scheduled May 8th tipoff of the 2026 WNBA season while also allotting for an expansion draft, free agency, and college draft — all before team training camps begin on April 19th.
"Conversations are continuing, as they need to be," WNBPA executive director Terri Jackson told media Wednesday morning, declining to give a concrete timeline but noting that things were "going in the right direction."
"We're working hard... and still have work to do," Engelbert noted, calling the talks "really important to the future not just of the league, but of women's sports."
While the parties have yet to agree on terms, the overnight marathon indicates a willingness on both sides to continue communicating — rather than hop on the picket line.
Months after Napheesa Collier set the WNBA ablaze with her viral exit interview criticizing league leadership, the Minnesota Lynx star said "nothing has changed" at the front office level as CBA negotiations stall.
"The conversation has been had now [and] people are seeing that changes need to be made," Collier said this week from Miami, where Unrivaled 3×3 is gearing up for its second campaign.
"I feel confident in the [union] and where we are internally with our players and the future," she continued.
In her October press conference, Collier publicly called the WNBA front office "the worst leadership in the world," putting commissioner Cathy Engelbert in the hot seat amid tense CBA negotiations with serious implications on next season's play.
The league and the WNBPA are currently sparring over revenue sharing, with diverging compensation expectations further distancing the two sides.
"Obviously, there's frustration in that both sides are trying to get what they want, but we still have that fire within us that we're willing to do what it takes," Collier said. "We're going to do whatever it takes to get what we think we deserve."
As talks drag on, Collier sees Unrivaled — the offseason 3×3 league she co-founded with New York Liberty star Breanna Stewart — as fueling the players' fight.
"Us being here in December and January until March, it's a crucial time in the CBA," Collier acknowledged.
"Having us all in one place is beneficial," she explained. "To have players congregate in that way, where you can have those in-person conversations and updates like that, that does help to get things moving more quickly."
Reigning WNBA champion A'ja Wilson picked up yet another honor this week, as TIME crowned the four-time league MVP its 2025 Athlete of the Year on Tuesday.
The Las Vegas Aces center became the first player in WNBA history to win a championship, Finals MVP, league MVP, and Defensive Player of the Year in the same season, with the 29-year-old sweeping the league's awards this year.
"This year, I collected everything," Wilson said in her TIME interview. "I don't really talk much sh-t — I mean crap. I kind of let my game do it."
Wilson described the Aces' midseason slump as a focusing agent in her 2025 TIME Athlete of the Year feature, with the skid launching the team on course to their third championship win in four years.
"I think 2025 was a wake-up call that I needed, to let me know that I can't be satisfied with anything," said Wilson. "There's somebody out there that's going to try to take your job. You need to make sure you're great at it, every single day."
Wilson also spoke to the strained relationship between players and WNBA commissioner Cathy Engelbert, whose leadership came under fire in October as CBA negotiations kicked into high gear.
"I only know Cathy by when she hands me trophies," Wilson said. "If that's her true self, thank you for showing that. Thank you for saying those things. Because now we see you for who you are, and now we're about to work even harder at this negotiation."
With the latest CBA extension expiring on January 9th, Wilson promised that the players are all-in on negotiations through the holiday season.
“All of us are going to be at the table, and we're not moving until we get exactly what we want."