WNBA and players’ union to meet on contract agreement as season start deadline looms

NEW YORK (AP) — The WNBA and the players’ union are set to meet Tuesday to continue discussions on reaching a new collective bargaining agreement as a deadline to get the season started on time is at hand, a person familiar with the negotiations told The Associated Press.

The person spoke on condition of anonymity because of the sensitive nature of the negotiations.

The meeting comes on a day that the league has said at least a handshake agreement on a new collective bargaining agreement would need to be done to start the season as scheduled.

The two sides exchanged proposals over the weekend with the league sending one on Saturday, the person said. It’s unknown what changes the league and union made in their latest proposal. Revenue sharing is the key sticking point between the sides.

Time is running out. The league had said it would need a deal by Tuesday to be able to have it signed by the end of the month. Under that timeline, the expansion draft for new franchises in Portland and Toronto would be held sometime between April 1-6, according to a timetable obtained by the AP.

Free agent qualifying offers, including franchise player tags, would be sent out April 7-8. Teams would then have three days to negotiate with the more than 80% of player...