CBA uncertainty leaves Valkyries players facing unsettled offseason

"The stalling of CBA negotiations has created uncertainty for when the league will hold an expansion draft for the Portland Fire and Toronto Tempo - the league's two newest teams set to make their debut in 2026. The 2025 offseason opened with the Valkyries selecting a bulk of their roster through an expansion draft held this past December. Teams were able to protect six players, but under a new CBA, the number of protected players could change for Portland and Toronto."

""It's just something out of our control," guard Kate Martin said. "Just being where our feet are and controlling what we can is going to be super important. And no matter what, just continuing to work in the off season and get better and be grateful for any opportunity that comes our way.""

""It's just a fair treatment, you know, a fair piece of what we're owed and what we deserve," she said. "We are the business at the end of the day. You know, without the players, you don't have the business.""

The league and the players' union have not reached a new collective bargaining agreement with an Oct. 31 deadline approaching. Questions about roster rules, salary structures, free agency, and a possible lockout loom over the Valkyries entering the offseason. Players insist on fair treatment and a meaningful share of what they are owed, arguing that the players are the foundation of the business. Stalled negotiations have made the timing and rules for an expansion draft for Portland and Toronto uncertain. The 2025 offseason included an expansion draft where teams could protect six players; that protection number could change under a new CBA, and multiple Valkyries face free-agency decisions and limited guaranteed roster spots.

Read at The Mercury News