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New York Liberty superstar Breanna Stewart agreed to a new contract on Monday. Unfortunately for the WNBA, that contract was not with one of its teams, hinting at a work stoppage that has been looming for months.
Stewart, a two-time WNBA MVP and three-time champion, serves as the vice president of the Women’s National Basketball Players Association.
However, she’s also a co-founder of the startup Unrivaled 3-on-3 league, and recently agreed to a contract with Turkish club Fenerbahçe for the EuroLeague Women Final Six in April, just one month before the scheduled start of the 2026 WNBA season.
Stewart previously played for the club in 2022-23, which was the last time she played internationally.
The WNBA Is Likely Headed For A Work Stoppage
If Stewart expected the 2026 WNBA season to begin on time, or at all, it’s unlikely she’d agree to a deal to play overseas shortly beforehand. Especially given the fact that she’s battled injuries in recent WNBA seasons.
However, the league and its players have been locked in an ugly labor dispute after players opted out of the current collective bargaining agreement following the 2025 season.
In December, 93 percent of WNBA players took part in a vote on whether to authorize a strike in 2026. Ninety-eight percent of those players voted to do so.
“The players are still adamant that we get a percentage of revenue that grows with the business, which perhaps includes team revenue, and that’s just a part of the conversation,” WNBPA president Nneka Ogwumike told ESPN after players rejected the latest offer from the league.
Meanwhile, star players such as Angel Reese seem on board with the idea of a work stoppage as well.
“Yeah, the CBA is coming up. We deserve more. Everybody, everybody. But we have to face the consequences? The women coming in next year are probably gonna be making more than us,” Reese said of a potential strike. “I gotta get in the meetings. Because I’m hearing… If y’all don’t give us what we want, we sitting out.”
Unfortunately, the potential stoppage comes at a time when women’s basketball has more eyes on it than ever before. Hopefully, a potential year without the league won’t stop that momentum in its tracks.