sports
WNBA schedule expands to 50 games per team in 2027
The league will increase its regular-season schedule from 44 to 50 games next year under a ratified collective bargaining agreement. The change marks the longest season in the league's 30-year history.
Jun 17, 3:20 PM·1m read1 source
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The WNBA will expand its regular-season schedule to 50 games per team beginning in 2027. The new collective bargaining agreement ratified earlier this year permits up to 50 games for the next two seasons. The league may schedule as many as 52 regular-season games in 2029 and thereafter under the same agreement.
Schedule history and expansion plans The league is playing 44 games per team in the current season. Teams played 28 games when the league began in 1997, with the schedule length increasing over three decades except during the 2020 and 2021 seasons affected by the COVID-19 pandemic.
The league is adding three new teams over the next several seasons: one in Cleveland in 2028, one in Detroit in 2029, and one in Philadelphia in 2030. One existing team is relocating from Connecticut to Houston next year.
Commissioner statement and media partnerships "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," WNBA Commissioner Cathy Engelbert said in a statement.
The league added the Toronto Tempo this year, its first franchise outside the United States. It has also added broadcast and streaming partners including ION, USA Sports, NBC, and Amazon alongside existing partners ESPN and CBS.
