Democrats have called for a ban on immigration agents wearing masks and are pushing for increased oversight of their operations.
Published On 16 Feb 202616 Feb 2026
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The United States Department of Homeland Security (DHS) ran out of funding over the weekend, leading to the third partial government shutdown of President Donald Trump’s second term, as negotiations between Republicans and Democrats remain stalled while Congress is in recess until February 23.
Democrats are calling for changes to the DHS’s immigration operations after two fatal shootings of US citizens in the city of Minneapolis last month. Alex Pretti and Renee Good were shot dead by federal officers from Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and Border Patrol during such operations.
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On Monday, state officials in Minnesota said that the FBI has refused to share evidence with state law enforcement following Pretti’s killing on January 24.
“This lack of cooperation is concerning and unprecedented,” Minnesota’s Bureau of Criminal Apprehension superintendent, Drew Evans, said in a statement.
DHS entered a shutdown on Saturday, but will continue operations deemed essential. Cuts affect agencies under the DHS, including the Transportation Security Administration (TSA), the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), Customs and Border Protection (CBP) – which runs Border Patrol – ICE, and the US coastguard.
At US airports, 2,933 of the TSA’s 64,130 employees have been furloughed for the duration of the shutdown. The remaining 95 percent of staff will remain on duty but will work without pay until the DHS is funded.
Earlier this month, Democrats sent Republicans a list of 10 demands to rein in immigration enforcement. In a letter, authored by House of Representatives Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, the politicians called for increased oversight of the DHS.
The letter called for DHS officers not to enter private property without a judicial warrant and to require verification that someone is not a US citizen before placing them in immigration detention. It also called for DHS to mandate that its officers do not wear masks, have visible identification, and wear clear uniforms.
Democrats are also seeking to prohibit immigration enforcement actions near courts, medical facilities, houses of worship, schools, and polling places.
They further called for increased coordination with local and state agencies after the federal government blocked state and local law enforcement from participating in investigations related to the deaths in Minneapolis.
“Federal immigration agents cannot continue to cause chaos in our cities while using taxpayer money that should be used to make life more affordable for working families,” Jeffries said in the letter.
“The American people rightfully expect their elected representatives to take action to rein in ICE and ensure no more lives are lost. It is critical that we come together to impose common sense reforms and accountability measures that the American people are demanding.”
Tom Homan, Trump’s border chief, dismissed the calls from Democrats on CBS’s Face the Nation, referring to the requests as “unreasonable”.
Republican Senator Markwayne Mullin of Oklahoma, meanwhile, echoed Homan’s stance. On CNN’s current affairs programme, State of the Union, he claimed that Democrats are engaging in “political theatre”.
Weekly insights and analysis on the latest developments in military technology, strategy, and foreign policy.
Even as the U.S. and Iran are scheduled to hold talks in Oman on Friday in hopes of defusing tensions between the two nations, Washington, Jerusalem and Tehran are all preparing for what could be a very violent future conflict. With the talks widely seen as a last-ditch diplomatic effort to avoid another war, the buildup of U.S. military capabilities in the region is continuing.
“While these negotiations are taking place, I would remind the Iranian regime that the president has many options at his disposal as the commander in chief of the most powerful military in history,” White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt told reporters at the White House Thursday afternoon.
➡️ “While these negotiations are taking place, I would remind the Iranian regime that the president has many options at his disposal as the commander in chief of the most powerful military in history,” @PressSec Karoline Leavitt says at White House. pic.twitter.com/bM7WpPq96U
Her comments followed those made Thursday morning by President Donald Trump, who continued his verbal pressure campaign against Iran.
“They’re negotiating,” Trump said during the 74th National Prayer Breakfast. “They don’t want us to hit them. You know, we have a big fleet going over there.”
“U.S. envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner, currently in Abu Dhabi, are expected to travel to Qatar to consult with Prime Minister Mohammed Abdulrahman Al Thani ahead of the talks in Oman,” according to the Jerusalem Post. At the moment, the U.S. and Iran are scheduled to talk about Tehran’s nuclear programs. Under the proposed framework for an agreement, Iran would commit to zero enrichment of uranium for three years, Al Jazeera reported.
“After that, it would agree to limit enrichment of uranium to below 1.5 percent,” the publication explained. “Its current stock of highly enriched uranium – including about 440kg (970lb) that has been enriched to 60 percent – would be transferred to a third country. The proposed framework goes beyond Iran’s nuclear program with mediators proposing that Iran should agree not to transfer weapons and technologies to its regional, non-state allies.”
BREAKING: Al Jazeera claims to have obtained the US-Iran deal framework proposed by Turkey, Qatar and Egypt:
1. Iran agrees to commit to zero uranium enrichment for 3 years, and then agrees to under 1.5% enrichment after that
2. Its stockpile of Highly Enriched Uranium would be…
A wide gap, however, remains about the ultimate outcome of these talks. While Iran wants to limit them to just its nuclear program, the Trump administration has a more comprehensive range of issues that need to be addressed.
“At the end of the day, the United States is prepared to engage, and has always been prepared to engage with Iran,” U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said on Wednesday. “For talks to actually lead to something meaningful, they will have to include certain things, and that includes the range of their ballistic missiles. That includes their sponsorship of terrorist organizations across the region. That includes the nuclear program. And that includes the treatment of their own people.”
SECRETARY RUBIO on IRAN TALKS: They will have to include certain things, and that includes the range of their ballistic missiles, their sponsorship of terrorist organizations across the region, the nuclear program, the treatment of their own people.pic.twitter.com/i9i97giQSe
Trump’s initial threats against Iran came as information trickled out about the nation’s brutal crackdown on anti-regime protests that have seen upwards of 30,000 killed, according to some estimates. The unrest began in Iran on Dec. 28 over rising prices and a devalued currency that saw the rial crater now to basically nothing, as well as a devastating drought.
Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan said his country is working hard to prevent U.S.-Iran tensions from tipping the Middle East into a new conflict.
“Speaking to reporters on a return flight from a visit to Egypt, Erdogan added that talks at the level of the U.S. and Iranian leadership would be helpful after lower-level nuclear negotiations due in Oman on Friday,” Reuters reported, citing a transcript of Erdogan’s comments shared by his office on Thursday.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said on Thursday that Ankara was doing its utmost to prevent tensions between the United States and Iran from dragging the region into a new conflict.
Speaking to reporters on a return flight from Egypt, Erdogan said diplomacy remained… pic.twitter.com/A63xLbI6QJ
Regardless of diplomacy, the head of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps on Thursday threatened Israel, America and the nations hosting U.S. military bases.
“When Americans threaten to attack us, they should know our first target would be the Zionist entity,” said IRGC General Hossein Daghighi, using the term Iran refers to when discussing Israel. “It is well within the range of our missiles. It is America’s weak spot in the region.”
“The enemy’s return to negotiations – the Americans’ return to negotiations – is a sign that they fear the capabilities of the Iranian people,” Daghighi added. “If attacked, we will immediately target all U.S. bases in the region. The countries and governments of the region are our brothers. We have no problems with them, but we will target the U.S. bases in these countries. If America wants to go to war with us, it should evacuate all its bases in the region and leave the region altogether. This is our objective. Our main goal is to drive America out of all the countries in the region.”
IRGC General Hossein Daghighi:
Our main goal is to drive America out of the region; if the U.S. attacks Iran, we will strike Israel first and target all American bases. Washington returned to negotiations out of fear of the Iranian people’s capabilities. pic.twitter.com/nsog54sw7X
Iran’s Army spokesman said the U.S. bases in the region are easy targets to attack.
“We are ready to defend, and it is the American president who must choose between compromise or war,” said Amir Akraminia. “Our access to US bases is easy, and this issue has increased their vulnerability.”
US military bases are within Iran’s reach, the army spokesman said on Thursday, warning President Donald Trump to choose between compromise and war.
“Our access to US bases is easy, and this has increased their vulnerability,” Amir Akraminia said. “We are ready to defend… pic.twitter.com/vDBoDV8W5O
Perhaps in anticipation of a new attack on its nuclear facilities, satellite images show Iran burying the entrance to the Isfahan site, which was one of three attacked during last year’s Operation Midnight Hammer. Iran did something similar prior that operation when it covered entrances to the Fordow facility with dirt to prevent an Israeli commando raid.
👀👀👀
Iran is burying the entrances to its nuclear facilities once again.
Satellite imagery analyzed by @TheGoodISIS shows dirt is being placed at the entrance to the Esfahan nuclear site that was hit during operation MIDNIGHT HAMMER in June of last year. https://t.co/JlmbrgZsQY
Israel, which has vowed that Iran will never get nuclear weapons, remains a large wildcard in the current situation.
While Jerusalem has been urging Trump to attack Iran, has been told it has to “refrain from any unilateral military action” against its archenemy, Sky News Arabia stated. “Ahead of the talks, which are to be held on Friday in Oman, the Israeli newspaper Yedioth Ahronoth described the coordination between Israel and the United States as ‘very close.’ Senior Israeli officials pointed to the frequent visits by military and intelligence officers between the two countries.”
“The Israeli Broadcasting Authority reported that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was holding a meeting with the heads of the security services on Thursday to discuss the tensions with Iran,” Sky News Arabia added.
It should be noted, of course, that Israel attacked Iran last June in what became known as the 12-Day War even as Washington was negotiating with Tehran.
Israeli officials said that the US has asked Israel to refrain from any unilateral military action against Iran, coinciding with the scheduled negotiations between Washington and Tehran. https://t.co/ZQMK6octb4
In addition to being concerned about Iran obtaining nuclear weapons, Israel is worried about its ability to produce ballistic missiles, of which Iran already has thousands.
“With help from China…and other countries, IDF Chief of Staff Lt.-Gen. Eyal Zami has warned that it could increase its ballistic missile production to 300 per month, and within a few years, dwarf its prior ballistic missile totals,” the Jerusalem Post reported. “At 6,000, 8,000, and 10,000 missiles in 2027-2028, analysts worry that even Israel’s awesome multi-layer defense shield would find it hard to keep up.”
Amid all the rhetoric, Israel is bracing for war.
“The Air Force, and especially you, must continue to maintain a high level of alertness,” Israeli Air Force commander, General Tomer Bar, said during a visit to an Iron Dome air defense battery on Thursday. “Every day, we are strengthening our readiness and our defensive and offensive capabilities. The reserve forces present at this battery, in the air defense system, and in all units of the Air Force and the Israel Defense Forces, are the central element of our power and of the State of Israel. Your mission and the heavy responsibility you have carried since the beginning of the war and on all fronts, together with the families who support you, are truly inspiring. The professionalism, dedication, and motivation you demonstrate here give me complete confidence that the Air Force is capable of confronting any challenge that lies ahead of us.”
“As we understand the situation, we are on a thin line between preparedness and attack,” an Israeli security official said. “A dramatic weekend awaits the region.”
Visiting a reserve Iron Dome battery in northern Israel, Israeli Air Force chief Maj. Gen. Tomer Bar says the military continues to “strengthen preparedness and capabilities in both defense and offense,” amid the ongoing tensions with Iran.
The stream of U.S. Air Force cargo jets to the region, however, is continuing at a brisk pace. Online flight trackers estimate that well over 100 aircraft have arrived in the Middle East over the past few weeks, bringing additional forces, including additional Patriot and Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) systems for increased protection from any Iranian attack.
While that may seem like a large number of flights, remember that last year, when the U.S. wanted to bolster its forces in the Middle East ahead of a potential conflict with Iran, it took 73 C-17 loads to move one Patriot air defense battalion across the globe. That is just one example of how hard-pressed U.S. military transport logistics are in a time of a major conflict that would require massive movements — in the air and at sea — of materiel.
2/5 AM Air Defense Move Update
Flights carrying air defenses have continued to stream into the Middle East overnight with more leaving Texas for Europe.
I have logged 50 flights since 1/23 total with 10 still in progress and no final destination is known yet. For context, last… pic.twitter.com/WlvFep7TEC
As part of the effort to handle all these aircraft movements, the U.S. base at Spangdahlem, Germany, is now operating around the clock, the BBC noted. In addition, it appears another E-11A Battlefield Airborne Communications Node (BACN) jet is now in the region.
“A third US Air Force E-11A aircraft departed from Chania International Airport on the Greek island of Crete yesterday. It touched down about four hours later at Prince Sultan Air Base in Saudi Arabia.”
Separately Spangdahlem Air Base, a large Nato facility in Germany operated…
The U.S. has already deployed additional F-15E Strike Eagles, E/A-18G Growler electronic warfare jets and A-10 Thunderbolt close support aircraft to the region, where some F-15Es and A-10s were already located. The U.S. Navy also has squadrons of F-35C stealth fighters, F/A-18E-F Super Hornets and Growlers embarked aboard the Lincoln. However, as we have frequently pointed out, there still does not appear to be enough tactical jets for the U.S. to maintain a sustained operation, even of limited scope, against Iran.
A flight of Air Force F-35A stealth fighters, used in the raid to capture Maduro, is still stuck in Rota, Spain, according to online flight trackers. The jets, reportedly bound for Jordan, became marooned there after a KC-46 mishap at Moron Air Base, some 50 miles to the northeast, shut the runway for days. While the Moron runway has since been reopened, it remains unclear how many flights have been launched. We have reached out to the U.S. Air Force Air Mobility Command and U.S. Air Forces Europe-Air Force Africa (USAFE) for details.
This KC-46 Pegasus aerial refueling tanker had a mishap on Moron Air Base and remains there. (Pepe Jimenez) Pepe Jimenez
We have not seen any major movement of strategic bombers yet either and there does not appear to be any major increase of assets on Diego Garcia, a U.S. base in the Indian Ocean. Last year, ahead of rising tensions with Iran, the U.S. sent a large force of bombers and other supporting assets to Diego Garcia, which TWZ was first to report on.
Though Trump on Thursday mentioned that the U.S. has a “big fleet” heading to the Middle East, there have been no ship movements today, a U.S. Navy official told us. There are still 10 ships in the U.S. Central Command region, including the aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln and three of its Arleigh Burke class guided missile destroyer escorts. There are also two Arleigh Burke class ships in the eastern Mediterranean as well, the official added.
In a veiled message to Iran, CENTCOM released a time-lapse video showing the launch and recovery of jets from the Lincoln.
On the flight deck of an aircraft carrier, what looks like a random rush of jets and people is actually a well-orchestrated routine. Sailors aboard the USS Abraham Lincoln are trained to work as a team to launch and recover safely and on time, every time. pic.twitter.com/64ubKaG1wC
Iran is no match for American military forces, the Navy’s highest-ranking active-duty officer said this week.
“Adm. Daryl Caudle, chief of naval operations, told hundreds of sailors at an all-hands call Wednesday that although he doesn’t take Iranian posturing lightly, U.S. forces overmatched Tehran’s threats ‘significantly’ when it comes to capabilities,”Stars and Stripes reported. “We have a very good approach of providing the president of the United States military options. Iran knows this. So, the fact that we have that type of capability is a strong deterrent.”
Adm. Daryl Caudle, chief of naval operations, told hundreds of sailors at an all-hands call that although he doesn’t take Iranian posturing lightly, U.S. forces overmatched Tehran’s threats “significantly” when it comes to capabilities.https://t.co/onC0T1tj5L
As CENTCOM was showing off the Lincoln, the IRGC on Thursday claimed it seized two oil tankers with their foreign crews in Gulf waters for “smuggling fuel,” the official Iranian Tasnim news agency reported.
“More than one million liters of smuggled fuel were discovered on these two violating vessels, and 15 foreign crew members were referred to judicial authorities for legal proceedings,” Tasnim added. It was not immediately clear what flags the tankers were carrying, nor the nationalities of the crews.
BREAKING:
Iranian IRGC terrorists claim they have captured two oil tankers in the Persian Gulf carrying around 1 million liters of diesel fuel.
The seizures, part of an ongoing Iranian effort in the Gulf, came just two days after an F-35C from the Lincoln shot down an Iranian drone. In a separate incident that day, IRGC forces harassed a U.S.-flagged, U.S.-crewed merchant vessel lawfully transiting the Strait of Hormuz. “Two IRGC boats and an Iranian Mohajer drone approached M/V Stena Imperative at high speeds and threatened to board and seize the tanker,” Col. Tim Hawkins, the CENTCOM spokesperson, said in a statement to TWZ. “Guided-missile destroyer USS McFaul (DDG 74) was operating in the area and immediately responded to the scene to escort M/V Stena Imperative with defensive air support from the U.S. Air Force.”
We will keep you up to date with new developments in this fast moving story.
WASHINGTON — A budget impasse in Congress is poised to halt large swaths of federal operations early Saturday as lawmakers in Capitol Hill turn to the next flashpoint in negotiations to reopen the government: whether to impose new limits on federal immigration authorities carrying out President Trump’s deportation campaign.
Over the next two weeks, Democrats and Republicans will weigh competing demands on how the Department of Homeland Security should carry out arrests, detention and deportations after the fatal shootings of two U.S. citizens by federal immigration agents this month in Minnesota.
Seeking to rein in the federal agency, Senate Democrats late on Thursday were able to strike a deal with the White House that would temporarily fund the Department of Homeland Security but fund the Pentagon, the State Department, as well as the health, education, labor and transportation agencies through Sept. 30.
The agreement is intended to give lawmakers more time to address Democratic demands to curb ICE tactics while averting a partial government shutdown.
The Senate finalized the deal Friday evening on a 71-29 vote, hours before a midnight deadline to avert a government shutdown. Passage of the deal was delayed by Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.), who objected to parts of the package.
The House expected to take up the legislation as early as Monday. The partial government shutdown will occur until the measure clears the House and Trump signs it into law.
The president supports the deal, which came after Senate Democrats said they would not vote to fund Homeland Security unless reforms for the agency were approved. Among the demands: banning federal agents from wearing masks, requiring use of body cameras and requiring use of judicial warrants prior to searching homes and making arrests.
Democrats have also demanded that local and state law enforcement officials be given the ability to conduct independent investigations in cases where federal agents are accused of wrongdoing.
The deal, however, does not include any of those reforms; it includes only the promise of more time to negotiate with no guarantee that the new restrictions will be agreed to.
Both of California’s Democratic senators, Adam Schiff and Alex Padilla, voted against the Senate deal. They both opposed giving more funding to Homeland Security without reforms in a vote Thursday.
Schiff voted no because he said he promised to not “give another dime for ICE until we saw real reforms — and not just promised reforms but statutory requirements.”
“I want to see those reforms before I am prepared to support any more funding for these agencies,” Schiff said in a video message posted on X, and added that he did not see the White House acting in “good faith. “I want it in writing and statute.”
After voting against the measure, Padilla said in a statement: “I’ve been clear from the beginning: No more money for ICE and CBP without real oversight and accountability.”
House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.) told reporters Friday morning that Democrats will find out whether two weeks is enough time to reach a compromise.
“We will evaluate whether that is sufficient time,” Jeffries said. “But there is urgency to dealing with this issue because ICE as we have seen is out of control.”
Meanwhile, the absence of reforms in the Senate deal has already drawn concerns from some progressives, who argue the deal falls short of what is needed to rein in federal immigration enforcement.
“First of all, I’m actually disappointed that Senate leadership is not right now demanding more,” Rep. Robert Garcia, a top-ranking House Democrat from Long Beach, told reporters Friday. “This idea that we’re somehow going to continue to fund this agency and somehow just extend the pain, I think is absolutely wrong.”
Garcia said it was “outrageous” that the Senate deal would extend funding for Homeland Security for two weeks without any new requirements.
“This idea that we’re somehow not demanding immediately the removal of masks and body cameras and all the other reforms while eliminating this agency that’s causing harm, I think, is outrageous,” Garcia said.
Democratic Rep. Judy Chu of Pasadena said in a statement that she had not yet decided whether to support the Senate deal once it reaches the House floor.
But, Chu added: “I cannot support legislation that increases funding to this agency while delivering no accountability measures.”
Rep. Kevin Calvert (R-Corona) said in a statement that it is “critical” for lawmakers to pass the bipartisan spending package, in part because it included funding for the U.S. military.
“As Chairman of the [House] Defense Appropriation Subcommittee, I’m especially concerned about the negative impacts of a shutdown at a time when we have a buildup of American military assets in the Middle East,” Calvert said.
Calvert added that Homeland Security operations will continue even in the shutdown because lawmakers provided an influx of funding for the agency in last year’s “One Big Beautiful Bill.” But he said he worried that any lapse in funding would affect other operations by the agency, including disaster funding and security assistance for major events, such as the upcoming World Cup.
“We need to get these priorities funded,” he said.
Other Republican lawmakers have already signaled the possible hurdles Democrats will face as they try to rein in ICE.
Graham held up consideration of the Senate deal, in part because he wanted the Senate to vote to criminalize local and state officials in sanctuary cities — a term that has no strict definition but that generally describes local jurisdictions that limit cooperation with federal immigration authorities.
“You can convince me that ICE can be better, but I don’t think I will ever convince you to abandon sanctuary cities because you’re wedded to it on the Democratic side,” Graham said.
Graham also delayed passage of the deal because it included a repeal of a law that would have allowed senators — including himself — to sue the government if federal investigators gained access to their phones without notifying them. The law required senators to be notified if that were to happen and sue for up to $50,000 in damages per incident.
“We’ll fix the $500,000 — count me in — but you took the notification out,” Graham said. “I am demanding a vote on the floor of the United States Senate.”
Other Senate Republicans also expressed concern with Democrats’ demands, even as Trump seemed to try appease them.
Sen. Eric Schmitt (R-Mo.) said the demand for federal agents to remove their masks during operations was a “clear and obvious attempt to intimidate and put our federal agents in harm’s way.”
“When enforcement becomes dangerous for enforcers, enforcement does not survive,” Schmitt said in a Senate floor speech. “What emerges is not reform, it is amnesty by default.”
Despite the GOP opposition, most Senate Republicans were poised to join Democrats on Friday and vote for the deal. But there is no certainty that they will join the minority party when negotiations resume in the coming weeks.
Recent history suggests that bipartisan support at the outset does not guarantee a lasting deal, particularly when unresolved policy disputes remain. The last government shutdown tied to a debate over healthcare exposed how quickly negotiations can collapse when no agreement is reached.
In November, a small group of Democrats voted with Republicans to end the longest government shutdown in U.S. history with the promise of negotiating an extension to healthcare tax credits that were set to expire in the new year.
Rep. Nancy Pelosi (D-San Francisco), a former House speaker, reminded the public on Friday that Democrats were unable to get Republican support for extending the tax credits, resulting in increasing healthcare costs for millions of Americans.
“House Democrats passed a bipartisan fix, yet Senate Republicans continue to block this critical relief for millions of Americans,” Pelosi wrote in a post on X.
Times staff writer Seema Mehta contributed to this report.
The WNBA and the players union will meet Monday in New York for the first time in weeks to try to move the stalled collective bargaining negotiations forward.
Kelsey Plum, who is vice president of the players union, mentioned the meeting to reporters Friday while preparing for a game in Philadelphia with the Unrivaled three-on-three league.
“We’ll learn a lot from this meeting. I’m not trying to put it on the meeting, but this is a meeting that I think everyone understands what’s at stake,” Plum said. “The league has their timelines; we as players understand what’s at stake. I always come into anything that I do with a great attitude, and I’m going to see the best in this.”
Plum, the former Sparks guard who is an unrestricted free agent, will be joined by other members of the executive council, including Nneka Ogwumike and Napheesa Collier, as well as union leadership.
The league will have its regular negotiating team, including commissioner Cathy Engelbert, the labor relations committee and a few other owners, according to a person familiar with the situation. The person spoke on condition of anonymity because of the sensitive nature of the negotiations.
The person said the league had been asking for the meeting for weeks and it was agreed upon by the union Thursday.
Players said union leadership had been chatting with them frequently.
“Both sides want to get something done, we just got to make moves to get there,” Chicago guard Rachel Banham said. ”It’s got to be an actual negotiation with compromise.”
New York guard Natasha Cloud took a more hardened stance.
“It would be the worst business decision of any business to not literally pay the players that make your business go. Without us, there is no W season,” she said.
Talks to reach a new CBA haven’t had much traction over the last few weeks, as the union says it is waiting for a response to a proposal it sent around Christmas that included a 30% gross revenue share for the players. According to another person familiar with the negotiations, the league didn’t feel that proposal was much different than the previous one the union sent.
That person spoke on condition of anonymity also because of the sensitive nature of the negotiations.
The league’s most recent offer last month would guarantee a maximum base salary of $1 million that could reach $1.3 million through revenue sharing. That’s up from the current $249,000 and could grow to nearly $2 million over the life of the agreement, the person told the Associated Press.
The two sides have been in a “status quo” period after the latest extension of the CBA ran out Jan. 9. They agreed to a moratorium a few days later that halted the initial stages of free agency in which teams would seek to deliver qualifying offers and franchise tag designations to players.
If a new CBA isn’t agreed upon soon, it could delay the start of the season. It’s already delayed the expansion draft for Toronto and Portland. The league did release its schedule last week with the regular season set to begin May 8.
The last CBA was announced in the middle of January 2020, a month after it was agreed to. It easily could take two months from when a new CBA is reached to get to the start of free agency, which was supposed to begin Sunday.
