WNBA executives have flocked to Miami for the start of free agency, hoping to open conversations with players taking part in the new Unrivaled league.
Teams can begin negotiating with free agents on Tuesday, with contracts eligible to be signed starting Feb. 1.
Not all of the free agents are playing in the 36-player 3-on-3 league, and there are some prominent players who could choose to sign elsewhere. It includes former league Most Valuable Players Breanna Stewart (New York Liberty), Nneka Ogwumike (Seattle Storm), Tina Charles (Atlanta Dream), Elena Delle Donne (Washington Mystics) and Diana Taurasi (Phoenix Mercury).
Delle Donne sat out the 2024 season after the Mystics couldn’t complete a sign-and-trade deal. Taurasi, 42, has spent all 20 of her WNBA seasons in Phoenix but is pondering retirement.
The Mercury could lose Taurasi and center Brittney Griner, who reportedly is considering hitting the free-agent market for the first time. The No. 1 overall pick of the 2013 WNBA draft by the Mercury, the 34-year-old Griner is a nine-time All-Star and two-time WNBA Defensive Player of the Year.
Other prominent unrestricted free agents include Brionna Jones (Connecticut Sun), Courtney Vandrsloot (Liberty), Natasha Howard (Dallas Wings) as well as Alysha Clark and Tiffany Hayes of the Las Vegas Aces.
Stewart is among the free agents to receive a “core” offer from her team, which is similar to a franchise tag in the NFL With the core designation, a team retains a player’s rights, preventing her from becoming an unrestricted free agent, and will guarantee a one-year contract at the supermax level.
The other players to receive the core tag are Kelsey Plum (Aces), Satou Sabally (Wings), Gabby Williams (Storm), Kelsey Mitchell (Indiana Fever) and Alyssa Thomas (Sun).
WNBA teams have a salary cap of just over $1.5 million, per Spotrac, and must have 11 or 12 players on the roster.
Vandersloot currently is playing in Unrivaled. She explained before the starts of the league season what she is looking for in a new team, should she leave the Liberty.
“I want to be valued. I want to be competitive,” Vandersloot said. “That’s why you come into this league. You want to be competing for championships. … A place that takes care of me, wants me to be there and sees what I can bring to the team, that’s most important. I want to have the ball in my hands and be able to create the way that I think that I can and just be in a place that is comfortable for me and my family.”
Per Spotrac, the WNBA has 59 free agents. Among them, 34 are unrestricted free agents, making them available to all teams unless they receive the core designation.
–Field Level Media
