A New Fan’s Guide To WNBA Free Agency
2024 was undeniably a massive year for women’s sports, especially women’s basketball. Arguably the biggest beneficiary has been the Women’s National Basketball Association (WNBA). In 2024, the WNBA saw a 48% increase in game attendance, and a 601% merchandise sales increase thanks to the star studded 2024 rookie class that featured Caitlin Clark, Angel Reese, Cameron Brink, and Kamilla Cardoso, who entered the league with large fanbases of their own.
Many new fans got a shock when on February 1st, 2025, dozens of players were signed or traded to different teams. Fear not, these mass trades are part of a yearly period of the offseason called Free Agency, when individual players are able to leave their teams or request to be traded depending on their contract. Free agency is hard to understand because of the legal terminology and rules and regulations for each kind of contract. Let’s spell out what each part of free agency means, and why your favorite player may have moved teams.
Key Terms of Free Agency:
Unrestricted Free Agent (UFA): A UFA can negotiate freely with any team in the league and is free to leave their current team if they wish.
How does a player become a UFA?
· A rookie who goes undrafted or is cut by their team
· A player who is cut or finishes their contract with five or more years in the league
· A player who finishes their contract with four or fewer years in the league and doesn’t receive a qualifying offer
Some current UFA’s include: DeWanna Bonner, Nneka Ogwumike, Brittney Griner, Chennedy Carter,and Tina Charles
Restricted Free Agent (RFA): A RFA is a player who’s contract is completed and they are able to negotiate an agreement with other teams, but their current team has the “Right of First Refusal”, meaning they can match the players offers from other teams. If the current team matches the offer, the player stays on their team. If their team doesn’t give them an offer to return, they become an Unrestricted Free Agent.
How does a player become an RFA?
· They have finished their contract and their current team, and they receive an offer to return
Some Current RFA’s include: DiJonai Carrington, Dana Evans, Temi Fagbenle, and Aari McDonald, and Michaela Onyenwere
Core Player: Every team is allowed to “Core” one free agent, meaning they essentially guarantee the player won’t leave by offering them a one-year contract with maximum pay. Cored Players can’t negotiate with other teams but if the player and the current team agree to part ways, the player can be traded.
Some Current Cored Players include: Kelsey Mitchell, Kelsey Plum, Satou Sabally, Breanna Stewart, Alyssa Thomas, and Gabby Williams
Reserved Players: Players with less than 4 years in the league that are offered returning contracts. A reserved players team has exclusive rights to that player and may trade them or keep them. If their team doesn’t offer a returning contract, the player becomes a UFA.
Some Current Reserved Players include: Amy Atwell, Veronica Burton, Ivana Dojkić, Sug Sutton, Li Yueru, and Marine Johannés
Qualifying Offer: When a team offers a current player a contract to remain with their team after finishing their contract.
Requesting a trade: Any player can request to be traded. Their team can decide whether to trade them but typically if a player requests a trade their team will agree.
Salary Cap: There is a limit on how much a team can spend on player salaries. Teams can’t pay the players over $1,507,100 total per year. For example, this year, Olympian and 2x WNBA Champion Kelsey Plum was traded to the Los Angelis Sparks by the Las Vegas Aces despite being a key piece of their offense because there was not enough left in the salary cap to pay her the maximum contract she required as a cored player.
Early Effects of Collective Bargaining
You may have noticed that almost all of this year’s free agents have signed one-year contracts. This is because the players union (WNBPA) and the league have agreed to renegotiate their collective bargaining agreement (CBA). A new CBA will allow for higher player salaries, so by being a free agent again in 2026 players will be able to negotiate for the highest salaries in the history of the WNBA. There is a wide pay gap to close, but this CBA will be a timely step forward in lengthy battle for equal pay in women’s professional athletics.
Sources:
https://www.wnba.com/news/wnba-delivers-record-setting-2024-season
https://herhoopstats.com/salary-cap-sheet/wnba/summary/2025/
