UNCASVILLE, Conn. — The WNBA announced last week that the regular season will expand to 50 games in 2027. That reflects the league’s growing popularity. It also means more strain on players, which is why the players’ union negotiated concessions as a part of the new collective bargaining agreement.
“We have the understanding that more games means more revenue, so we knew [the number of games] was gonna go up,” players union secretary Elizabeth Williams told the Sun-Times. “We just had to agree on by how much.”
One concession for players was extending the regular-season window, which now runs through Nov. 21 instead of Oct. 31. They also secured minimum standards across teams, aimed at professionalizing facilities and staffing.
“People having their own facilities that have all the recovery modalities is going to make a huge difference moving forward,” Williams said. “Having extra staff was also important for that reason. More recovery, more opportunity to get in the work that you need.”
The Sky, for example, hired a massage therapist, physical therapist and additional performance coaches this offseason.
Williams said charter planes also have helped players handle the increased workload, though inconsistencies linger. Charter planes are not always the same size, she said, and there are times when teams get smaller planes for longer flights and bigger planes for shorter ones.
“Some consistency there would be nice and helpful when we’re playing more games, to get the big planes,” Williams said.
Another fix that would help players adjust: eliminating back-to-back games in the schedule..
Still, Williams sees more games as a good thing for the league. She also likes that it takes some pressure off of individual games.
“I was just talking to [Courtney Vandersloot] about when we were playing 32 [games],” she said. “If you lost a couple, it was like your season was over. Now there’s 50 games, you have a little wiggle room, which is nice.”
Marsh wants 14
Coach Tyler Marsh is less excited about the expanded schedule.
He’s expressed wariness about adding games to the regular season, given how little rest and recovery players already get because of offseason commitments. His preferred fix is bigger rosters.
He wants a roster “big enough to where two of your players aren’t limited to just the 12 development games.”
“You want to have a full season of 14 players to preserve the health of the players,” Marsh said.
But 12-player rosters are built into the CBA, meaning any change would require an amendment.
Know the rules
The Sky’s loss to the Wings renewed calls for greater accountability in officiating.
A backcourt violation on Sky center Kamilla Cardoso swung the game toward the Wings in the final minute, but the call appeared incorrect based on the rules around positioning.
“We all disagree with it, but we have to control the things we can control,” Cardoso told the Sun-Times. “We have to know there’s going to be plays like that and play through it.
Marsh said he argued that call, along with several others down the stretch, to no avail. He continues to push for more accountability from officials league-wide.
“I don’t think it’s too much for us to anticipate that the ones that enforce the rules know the rules,” Marsh said. “I think that’s a fair thing to ask.”