Alexa Philippou
Multiple Authors
An unprecedented time in the WNBA is upon us. Over the next few weeks, the league will finally hold free agency for 100-plus players. Yes, you read that right: 100-plus. Free agency was put on hold while the league and Women’s National Basketball Players Association negotiated a new collective bargaining agreement, which was ratified by both sides in March.
Knowing that a huge payday could be on its way in 2026, all but two of the league’s veteran players agreed to contracts that would expire following the 2025 season — which means more than 80% of the league currently is not signed to a team.
That said, two major players are already off the board: New York Liberty star Breanna Stewart announced on her podcast this week that she’ll be returning to Brooklyn, and teammate Sabrina Ionescu told reporters Wednesday at USA Basketball camp in Phoenix that she’ll also be re-signing with New York.
The official timetable for free agency has yet to be announced nor shared with teams, sources told ESPN, as the long-form version of the CBA gets completed. A late February memo shared with front offices proposed that free agency could begin April 7 with formal signings starting April 12 if a deal was completed by March 10. But the terms of the new CBA were verbally agreed to March 18, and those dates were thought to be fluid.
Another factor at play is Friday’s two-team expansion draft (3:30 p.m. ET, ESPN) for the Toronto Tempo and Portland Fire. Each of the league’s preexisting teams can protect only five players, and Toronto and Portland can each pick only one player who is set to become an unrestricted free agent. That can include a player who is no longer core eligible, but the only benefit the expansion team would have in picking such a player would be that it can offer them a supermax salary.
With training camp still expected to begin on time April 19, this will be the most consolidated free agency period the league has ever seen — and with a $7 million salary cap in 2026, the most lucrative, as well.
ESPN ranked the top 55 free agents into tiers and broke down what factors could be at play as they make decisions this month. The players listed below are unrestricted free agents unless otherwise noted.
MVP-caliber
Napheesa Collier
Alyssa Thomas
A’ja Wilson
It is almost unheard of to see the league’s perennial MVP candidates all hit free agency at the same time. But the likelihood of these stars actually seeking new homes seems minimal. Aside from Stewart’s announcement, the Las Vegas Review Journal has reported that Wilson intends to re-sign with the Las Vegas Aces at the new $1.4 million supermax for 2026 as soon as possible. Collier and Thomas, meanwhile, seem content with the Minnesota Lynx and Phoenix Mercury, respectively.
What’ll be worth monitoring are the terms of their eventual deals: Will they end up on long-term contracts, and will they join Wilson in taking the supermax? The supermax constitutes 20% of the salary cap (up from 16.5% in the prior CBA), but historically some stars have been willing to take less than that amount in an effort to sign deals that help their squads sign more talent around them.
All-WNBA level
Kahleah Copper
Allisha Gray
Chelsea Gray
Jonquel Jones
Kelsey Mitchell
Nneka Ogwumike
Kelsey Plum
Jackie Young
This group consists of players who could be prime candidates to be cored by their teams, which is the WNBA’s version of the NFL’s franchise tag. The core rules don’t change in the new CBA until 2027; the most recent rules stipulated that players who have played two seasons while under the core designation cannot be cored again, meaning, of the aforementioned players, Copper, Jones, Ogwumike and Stewart are all ineligible for the designation.
Ionescu indicated that New York’s nucleus — which also features Jones — will remain intact. All eyes will be on whether Las Vegas can also retain its big three of Wilson, Chelsea Gray and Young. Young would be a no-brainer for teams to poach from Las Vegas if she wants to follow in the example of Plum and become a team’s centerpiece.
Caitlin Clark and the Fever, meanwhile, have made it abundantly clear since the season ended that priority No. 1 is to re-sign Mitchell. When Plum was traded to the Los Angeles Sparks last offseason, both sides envisioned it being a long-term partnership, not just a one-off, so it seems likely she will be back there. Elsewhere, does Ogwumike return to the Seattle Storm after coach Noelle Quinn was let go?
It’s possible some of these players end up with the $1.4 million supermax in 2026. If not, the regular max isn’t too much lower ($1.19 million in 2026).
All-Star-caliber
Veronica Burton (RFA)
Skylar Diggins
Brittney Griner
Dearica Hamby
Rhyne Howard (RFA)
Brionna Jones
Jewell Loyd
Ezi Magbegor
Kayla McBride
Arike Ogunbowale
Satou Sabally
Brittney Sykes
Kayla Thornton
Gabby Williams
With such a condensed free agency, some industry insiders predict there will be less movement than initially expected and that players will sign one-year deals to wait to see how the new landscape sorts itself out. So which players could potentially be on the move?
Griner’s presence on the floor was diminished by the end of her first season with the Atlanta Dream — does that fit still make sense for both parties? Ogunbowale’s future will be of primary interest, too, after her productivity dipped last season and then-rookie Paige Bueckers emerged as the clear franchise cornerstone for the Dallas Wings. Loyd shined for the Aces once she started coming off the bench, helping them win their third title. Is that the role that makes most sense for her moving forward?
Magbegor is also hitting free agency at an interesting time following the arrival of Dominique Malonga in Seattle. Must the Storm choose between the two young bigs? Free agency will reveal more about the vision for the team under new coach Sonia Raman (and GM Talisa Rhea).
Seattle is in a position similar to Minnesota of contending but not yet breaking through to win a title with its current iteration. One of the major storylines of free agency will be whether the Storm maintain most of their roster from last year or lean toward heavy changes.
Of note: Players from this group who are no longer core eligible are Diggins, Jones, Griner and Loyd.
High-level starters
Ariel Atkins
Shakira Austin (RFA)
DeWanna Bonner
Jordin Canada
Tina Charles
Natasha Cloud
Tiffany Hayes
Naz Hillmon (RFA)
Betnijah Laney-Hamilton (suspended, contract expired)
Marina Mabrey
Emma Meesseman
Alanna Smith
Azura Stevens
Courtney Vandersloot
Courtney Williams
There’s an assortment of players facing an interesting set of circumstances in this group. Will the Liberty run back the Cloud-Ionescu backcourt pairing, or go a different route? What does Laney-Hamilton’s future hold as she looks to return to the WNBA after missing a year because of a knee injury? Meesseman is always an unknown given her overseas commitments; does she return to the WNBA in 2026, and would New York want to give it another go with her?
Vandersloot and Atkins seem poised to be in the Chicago Sky’s plans, with the former also a bit of a wild card as she returns from an ACL injury. Could a player such as Stevens be lured away from Los Angeles for a larger role or more money elsewhere? Veterans such as Bonner and Charles, similarly to Vandersloot, have more years behind them than ahead of them but can still make a difference for teams.
Players from this group who are no longer core eligible are: Bonner, Canada and Charles.
The situation for Mabrey is also tricky: The Connecticut Sun are clearly in a rebuild with young talent but are also relocating to Houston in 2027, with Comets and Sun front office personnel already working in tandem beginning this season. The impact of the franchise’s relocation on its free agency plans remains to be seen.
Key rotation players
Bridget Carleton
DiJonai Carrington
Alysha Clark
Sophie Cunningham
Temi Fagbenle
Tyasha Harris
Natisha Hiedeman
Natasha Howard
Lexie Hull (RFA)
Marine Johannes (reserve)
Cheyenne Parker-Tyus
Jessica Shepard
NaLyssa Smith (RFA)
Erica Wheeler
Sami Whitcomb
These players have the greatest variance in what their roles could look like depending on the makeup and vision of their teams. A player such as Carrington (who was traded from Dallas to Minnesota) is in an uncertain position as a midseason acquisition who proved her value, but there are a lot of unknowns regarding the direction the Lynx will choose. Smith thrived in Las Vegas following a midseason trade and helped the Aces to a championship, and might have found a new home there. The Fever have less uncertainty than others in that they have Clark and Aliyah Boston, both all-WNBA players, under contract, but they must decide whether they’ll look to return that pair’s surrounding cast of Howard (no longer core eligible), Hull and Cunningham.
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