The WNBA is getting longer — and a lot more lucrative for its players. The league announced Wednesday that it will expand its regular season from 44 games to 50 games beginning in 2027, the latest in a string of moves signaling just how fast women’s professional basketball is scaling.
The Announcement
In an official release, the league confirmed the schedule will grow by six games per team starting next season. Commissioner Cathy Engelbert framed the expansion as a direct response to the league’s surging popularity.
“Demand for the WNBA has never been greater, and expanding to a 50-game regular season reflects the extraordinary momentum we are seeing across the league,” Engelbert said. “This move reflects our commitment to growing the game and creating more opportunities for fans to watch the best players in the world and experience the extraordinary talent and competition that define the WNBA.”
The league did not release specifics on the 2027 schedule itself — footprint, key dates, and matchup details are still to come.
Why It’s Happening Now
The expansion is built into the WNBA’s new collective bargaining agreement, which gave the league discretion to grow the schedule in stages. The new structure pushes the season’s end date to no later than Nov. 21 in 2027 and Nov. 30 starting in 2028 — nearly a month later than the previous Oct. 31 limit. The league also retains the option to expand further, to 52 regular-season games, beginning in 2029.
That same CBA is also what’s funding the league’s growth on the player side. It delivered the first comprehensive revenue-sharing model in women’s professional sports history, along with six-figure minimum salaries and max contracts reaching $1.4 million — gains players agreed to in exchange for the longer slate of games.
Part of a Bigger Expansion Push
The scheduling news lands amid an aggressive growth phase for the league. The WNBA added the Toronto Tempo and a Portland franchise this season, pushing the total to 15 teams, with Cleveland, Detroit, and Philadelphia set to join in 2028, 2029, and 2030, respectively.
The added inventory also matters to the league’s broadcast partners. The longer schedule gives the WNBA’s growing list of media partners — which now includes ESPN, CBS, NBC, Amazon, ION and USA Sports — more games to put on air, a notable consideration given the league’s media rights deal is worth more than $3 billion.
What Changes for the Game Itself
Not every effect of a longer season is a clean win. Over three decades, the WNBA has nearly doubled in length, from a 28-game inaugural season in 1997 to the 50 games coming in 2027. For most of the league’s history, teams played in the 30-36 game range — closer to a college basketball slate — where every game carried real weight and stars rarely sat out. As the schedule stretches further, the value of any single game inevitably dilutes for players, teams, and fans alike.
What’s Next
The league has not yet released the 2027 schedule’s footprint or key dates. Expect more details — including how the extra games get distributed and what it means for travel, rest, and the playoff structure — as next season approaches.
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