The busiest period of the WNBA The offseason is upon us as free agents meet with their potential teams until February 1st when they will be able to sign contracts.
The prospects of a new collective bargaining agreement will influence this season’s free agency, but expect to see stars change uniforms and championship contenders reorganize their rosters. Follow this tracker, where you’ll find news and analysis of moves that could reshape the league.
How will the CBA negotiations affect free agency?
Although some of this year’s free agents could sign multi-year contracts this offseason, given the economic windfall expected to hit the league next winter, many high-profile free agents are expected to sign one-year contracts and re-enter the market next season when salaries will likely increase. .
In late October, the Women’s National Basketball Association withdrew from the WNBA’s collective bargaining agreement, beginning negotiations for a new contract that will significantly affect the future of the league.
The talks between the two sides come during a period of economic growth in women’s basketball. As evidenced by booming ratings, attendance and merchandise last summer, the WNBA announced a new media rights deal in 2026 that will pay out an average of $200 million over the next 11 years. His current contract is valued at around $50 million per year. The increase in media rights is expected to result in an increase in player salaries and the league’s salary cap when the new collective bargaining agreement takes effect.
Only two players… Kalani Brown And Lexie Brown – are not on a rookie contract but have signed a 2026 contract. More than 60 players who finished the 2024 season on a roster are expected to become free agents next year.
An offseason of record changes seems more and more possible as players who seem happy with their current teams, including Breanna Stewarthave signed one-year deals in recent years, likely to wait to sign a higher value long-term deal during the 2026 offseason.
Players to watch
Alyssa Thomas
THE Connecticut Sun has assigned a basis designation to Thomas, meaning it is not free to negotiate a new deal with other teams. However, Thomas was frank this year on the importance of better equipment, and she might request a trade rather than play under Rachid Meziane, who is a first-year head coach in the WNBA.
Satou Sabally
In early January, Sabally said she had informed the Dallas Wings about his desire to play for another franchise next season. Nevertheless, Dallas said Sabally, meaning any move involving the former All-WNBA first-team forward must be done via sign-and-trade.
Kelsey Plum
Plum is the only core member of the Las Vegas Aces championship team (A’ja Wilson, Jackie Young And Chelsea Gray) who has not signed a recent extension. (Plum uses different agency representation than the other three.) If moved, Las Vegas would receive compensation in return.
Brittney Griner
Griner is testing the free agent market for the first time in his career, his agent, Lindsay Kagawa Colas, told the Associated Press. If she goes to another team, the Phoenix Mercury could replace her with other big free agents like Emma Meesseman, Brionna Jones, Tina Charles or Natasha Howard.
Jewell Loyd
Loyd is not a free agent, but a six-time All-Star requested a trade from the Seattle Storm earlier this offseason. How they handle his request could start a chain reaction, as it is possible that the Storm should fill the void left by the six-time All-Star with more depth in the backcourt.
DiJonai Carrington
Carrington is a restricted free agent, meaning Connecticut can match any offer sheet she signs with another team. However, all RFA deals must last at least two years, and Carrington is unlikely to sign a multi-year deal (due to CBA changes). As a result, Carrington’s situation is akin to that of a core player: She will likely return to the Sun on a one-year contract or be moved to another team in a sign-and-trade deal. exchange.
Top 20 impact players
*The player is eliminated
**Player is restricted
Key Free Agency Dates
From January 11 to January 20, WNBA franchises had to extend their qualifying offers to make affected players restricted or reserved free agents. In this window, players could accept qualifying offers, but these offers could only be accepted before February 1.
Starting January 21, franchises could begin negotiating with free agents, regardless of their classification. Contracts cannot be officially finalized and announced until February 1st.
What does it mean to be an experienced player?
A base designation in the WNBA is similar to the NFLthe franchise label. It can be applied to one unrestricted free agent per team to prevent a player from becoming an unrestricted free agent. Applying the primary designation to a player gives the team exclusive negotiating rights, and any deal between the player and the team must be a minimum of a fully guaranteed one-year contract worth the supermax.
A player can be eliminated a maximum of two times during her career.
Selected players do not necessarily match the franchise that applied the designation, but selected players can then only be moved in sign-and-trade deals. This could become the case for Plum, Thomas and Sabally.
Essential WNBA Players This Offseason
•Breanna Stewart (Freedom)
• Kelsey Mitchell (Fever)
• Satou Sabally (Wings)
• Plum Kelsey (Ace)
• Alyssa Thomas (Sun)
• Gabby Williams (Storm)
How will teams evaluate draft picks?
Keep an eye on how many – and which – draft picks are being put into offseason trades. With negotiations underway under the CBA, franchises may be hesitant to tender their first-round picks, as the salary of a first-round pick will almost assuredly be lower this year (around $76,000) than that of the next CBA. Assuming next year’s CBA raises the minimum for rookies, players drafted this year would be given lower salaries than next year’s rookies.
Franchises can also trade picks in the 2027 WNBA Draft, but teams may be hesitant to offer such selections due to incoming star power, including USC’s JuJu Watkins, Notre Dame’s Hannah Hidalgo and Madison Booker from Texas.
In December, Golden State selected 11 players for its inaugural season. However, it is likely that not all of these players will make Golden State’s roster. Only three players… Stephanie Talbot, Kayla Thornton And Kate Martin – are under contract with the Valkyries, and Golden State has the most wiggle room in the league. As a result, he could be a willing trade partner for players on supermax contracts or free agents looking to maximize their short-term gains.
Free agency predictions
Stewart leads another sizable pool of free agents in the 2025 offseason, which includes several former MVPs and multiple All-Stars. Stewart has already announced she will return to the New York Liberty, but there is expected to be a lot more movement as other teams prepare to take down the defending champions.
This article was originally published in Athletics.
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