A whirlwind WNBA free agency has finally slowed down with many of the league’s biggest names finding new homes. Brittney Griner, Satou Sabally, and Kelsey Plum are just a few of the multiple-time All-Stars who will don new jerseys next season.
However, the 2025 offseason may only be a stopgap for what’s to come next year. As the league prepares for a new CBA and the influx of revenue from an 11-year, $2.2 billion media-rights deal that kicks in next season, WNBA players have agreed to contracts that will allow them to be free agents in 2026.
It won’t just be a few names available. It will be the majority of the league.
Of the 24 players who made the All-Star Game last year, 21 (87.5%) will be unrestricted free agents next year (including Diana Taurasi, who has yet to sign a contract for next season and is mulling retirement). The list of 2026 free agents includes multiple-time MVP winners A’ja Wilson and Breanna Stewart, who admitted before last year’s Finals that she was targeting free agency in 2026 because of the uncertainty surrounding the CBA and TV deal.
There is a lot of unknown about what will happen in 2026, including how much the new CBA will change the contracts of players, which last season ranged from around $64,000 to $250,000 per year. The $200 million annual revenue from the new media-rights deal is more than three times the league’s current deal.
However, the NBA saw an exponential increase in its media-rights deal in 2016 that caused about a 35% increase in its salary cap that year. Players lucky enough to be free agents that offseason received relatively large contracts, and the added cap space was a key reason why the Warriors were infamously able to acquire Kevin Durant.
Women’s National Basketball Players Association executive director Terri Jackson told Front Office Sports that the players are working to ensure any changes will also help the league thrive in the long term.
“The players want to make sure that what we create for this league is sustainable and does not create an imbalance,” Jackson said ahead of the debut of Unrivaled in Miami last month. “The implementation of that has to address everyone in a holistic way.”
It’s also unclear whether the CBA will change the contracts of those on rookie deals. The three 2024 All-Stars who will not be free agents next year are Caitlin Clark, Angel Reese, and Aliyah Boston—all of whom are still on their rookie contracts. Paige Bueckers, who is expected to be the No. 1 pick in the 2025 draft, will also be on her rookie deal—unless she chooses to stay another year in college.
—FOS reporter Margaret Fleming contributed reporting.
