PHOENIX — WNBA free agency this year had the makings of a high-octane, drama-filled blockbuster.
Instead, it’s shaping up to be nothing more than a blip.
More than 100 players are set to become free agents as a result of most veterans signing contracts that expired following the 2025 season in anticipation of a new collective bargaining agreement. But after CBA negotiations carried on for more than 15 months, ultimately leading to a deal being reached in March, free agency was put on hold.
Now, the league’s 15 general managers will have no more than two weeks to fill out their rosters, with free agency dates still not set by the league and training camp opening on April 19.
“A lot of decisions will have to be done relatively quickly,” New York Liberty guard Sabrina Ionescu said. “I think GMs have been working for a really long time, though.”
Teams can’t officially negotiate with free agents yet. Players, meanwhile, have had less to say when it comes to their recruitment efforts.
“I don’t know if I can answer that,” Dallas Wings guard Paige Bueckers said when asked about her efforts to woo impending free agents at USA Basketball camp. “But I’m friendly with everyone.”
The league previously shared an anticipated timeline for free agency that had qualifying offers going out April 7–8, followed by a negotiating period April 9–11. The signing period would be April 12–18 under this plan. However, the league has been unable to confirm or share dates with GMs and player representation as the CBA hasn’t been formally executed as a written document.
Despite the state of limbo, some teams already have plans in motion. Three of the league’s top free agents—Ionescu, Breanna Stewart, and A’ja Wilson—have already publicly committed to re-signing with their respective teams. Stewart announced the news that she would be back with the Liberty on her podcast with Myles Turner. Ionescu and Wilson broke their own news at USA Basketball camp in Phoenix.
“I love Vegas,” Wilson said. “I’m not leaving Vegas, so I’m not looking anywhere. I’m looking to win another one. I’m looking to defend a championship that we have in Las Vegas.”
Wilson has signed team-friendly deals the last three years, allowing the Aces field a superteam caliber roster. Ultimately, it paid off resulting in three titles in four years. The Aces are expected to sign Wilson to the historic new supermax salary of $1.4 million, “as soon as possible” according to a March report from The Las Vegas Review Journal.
Speculation about how free agency will unfold varies, with some sources across the league anticipating there won’t be much movement, and others anticipating free agents will look to sign one-year contracts so they can fully explore free agency in 2027.
“I’m curious if there are going to be more one-year deals than long term deals,” four-time WNBA champion and managing director of the USA Women’s National Basketball Team Sue Bird said. “From a player standpoint, I’m imagining they’re already thinking about their priority lists… so when the decision does come and they’re getting all of those calls, they’ll be ready.”
The new CBA brings massive pay raises, with salaries ranging from a rookie minimum of $270,000 all the way up to the $1.4 million supermax in the first year of the deal. The revenue sharing model resulted in players receiving roughly 20% of league revenue on average over the life of the deal.
But with the salary increases comes a shift to the salary cap hit each will have. For example, the supermax salary is 20% of the $7 million salary cap in year 1, up from roughly 16.6% in 2025. This is expected to have a stark impact on roster construction.
GMs have been tinkering with different salary cap models in anticipation of a new CBA for most of the offseason, but have only had exact details for roughly two weeks.
“It creates a little bit of excitement,” Ionescu said. “Everyone’s in it together. No one knows what their teams look like. No one knows a lot, so I think it’s going to be exciting to just kind of start training camp. Everyone will be able to take a deep breath.”
