2024 WNBA Free Agency List

Once again, we bring you a complete list of impending WNBA free agents, and explanations of all the terms and statuses involved

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Photo Credit: Chris Poss

With the 2023 WNBA regular season completed - and therefore the possibility of any further signings or contract extensions now closed - it's time for an annual Her Hoop Stats tradition: the full WNBA free agency list. The WNBA will wait until January to release their official list and you could collate your own from our consistently updated salary cap sheets, but we're here to do the work for you.

The league waits until January because the statuses of individual players don't become 100% official until then. The dates were changed slightly last year but the process remains the same (and the new dates are expected to be repeated). From Jan. 11 to Jan. 20, teams are required to send out qualifying offers to make applicable players restricted or reserved (terms explained below). However, the vast majority of eligible players will receive those qualifying offers, because it’s non-guaranteed money that teams can cut at a later date if they want to. So the list below assumes each relevant player will have a qualifying offer extended. If they do not, we will update the list and cap sheets on the site at the appropriate time. The status of impending unrestricted free agents won't change, outside of the possibility of a few core designations. Players are included on our lists if they received qualifying offers this year or were involved in some way in the 2023 season.

As with everything in the cap sheets, all the information in this list has been carefully gathered and checked via league sources. However, in such an extensive list, it is possible that mistakes can be made. For any issues, questions or corrections please contact us at Her Hoop Stats or @RichardCohen1.

The WNBA players that are free agents and/or out-of-contract heading into the 2023 season essentially fall into four categories: Unrestricted Free Agent, Restricted Free Agent, Reserved Player, and Suspended - Contract Expired.

• Unrestricted Free Agent (UFA): Players who have just completed a contract need a minimum of five years of service in the WNBA to gain this status. Players can also become a UFA before their fifth season if they are cut by a team and pass through waivers without being claimed. UFAs are free to discuss terms and sign a contract with any team of their choice, unless cored (explained below).
  

• Restricted Free Agent (RFA): This applies to players with four years of service in the WNBA. Most commonly, players fall into this category when they have just completed their rookie scale contract. They can talk to and sign with any team they like, but their previous team has the “right of first refusal” to match any offer sheet they sign with another team and thereby retain the player.
  

• Reserved Player: If a player’s contract has expired but they have three or fewer years of service in the WNBA, they become “reserved”. That means that they can only negotiate with their previous team and are not allowed to discuss terms or sign with anyone else (unless released).
  

• Suspended - Contract Expired: This status came to the fore in 2021 because of how many players skipped the 2020 bubble season and fell into this category as a result. If a player's contract expires while they are suspended, they are deemed to have been "withholding services" in the language of the WNBA's Collective Bargaining Agreement. Their previous team then retains their rights and the player is not allowed to talk to or sign with any other team. In practice, it's very similar to the reserved status described above, although no qualifying offer is required.

In order to make a player restricted or reserved, their previous team has to send out the relevant qualifying offer sometime from Jan. 11 to Jan. 20. If they don't, the player becomes an unrestricted free agent. Players can then talk to teams from Jan. 21 onwards and begin signing on Feb. 1. Some players may immediately sign those qualifying offers, which is why we sometimes see players being signed even before Jan. 21. That's the only type of signing you'll see before Feb. 1, although as we saw this year, trades can still happen in January.

Each team also has their core designation, which can be used on one UFA to prevent them from becoming a true free agent. The tag blocks the player from negotiating with anyone else, but comes with a one-year guaranteed supermax contract as the core qualifying offer. The team and player are free to negotiate a contract that lasts longer and/or costs a different amount, but the tag sticks to that player for the length of the contract (not including extensions) unless the player is traded, waived or retires. No teams currently have their core spot occupied by a signing from a previous year, so all of them have the option available to them this offseason. It can be used on UFAs or RFAs, but in practice is virtually always used on UFAs as teams already have control of their RFAs. However, an increasing number of players have reached the limit of two seasons played under a contract signed while cored, and are therefore ineligible to be cored again. DeWanna Bonner, Candace Parker, Nneka Ogwumike, Jasmine Thomas, Jonquel Jones, Skylar Diggins-Smith and Brittney Griner are all in that position, where they will become true unrestricted free agents because their teams are no longer allowed to core them (Kahleah Copper and Jewell Loyd would also have been on that list, but recently signed extensions that removed them from free agency entirely).

On to the names.

Unrestricted Free Agents

Natalie Achonwa (MIN)

Lindsay Allen (MIN)

Rebecca Allen (CON)

Kristine Anigwe

Rachel Banham (MIN)

Monique Billings (ATL)

DeWanna Bonner (CON)

Kalani Brown

Rae Burrell

Jordin Canada (LAS)

Emma Cannon (IND)

Bridget Carleton (MIN)

Chennedy Carter

Kaila Charles

Layshia Clarendon (LAS)

Natasha Cloud (WAS)

Alaina Coates

Nia Coffey (ATL)

Sydney Colson (LVA)

Lauren Cox

Lorela Cubaj

Elena Delle Donne (WAS)

Diamond DeShields (DAL)

Jasmine Dickey

Skylar Diggins-Smith (PHO)

Liz Dixon

Ivana Dojkić

Stefanie Dolson (NYL)

Emily Engstler

Cyesha Goree

Brittney Griner (PHO)

Arella Guirantes

Megan Gustafson (PHO)

Linnae Harper

Tianna Hawkins (WAS)

Tiffany Hayes (CON)

Destanni Henderson

Khaalia Hillsman

Ashley Joens

Brionna Jones (CON)

Jonquel Jones (NYL)

Jantel Lavender

Rui Machida

Abby Meyers

Taylor Mikesell

Chiney Ogwumike (LAS)

Nneka Ogwumike (LAS)

Candace Parker (LVA)

Shey Peddy (PHO)

Theresa Plaisance

Aerial Powers (MIN)

Epiphanny Prince

Danielle Robinson (ATL)

Karlie Samuelson

Katie Lou Samuelson (LAS)

Jennie Simms

Odyssey Sims (DAL)

Alanna Smith (CHI)

Taylor Soule

Breanna Stewart (NYL)

Kiah Stokes (LVA)

Jasmine Thomas (LAS)

Sam Thomas

Kristi Toliver (WAS)

Kayana Traylor

Evina Westbrook

Christyn Williams

Courtney Williams (CHI)

Gabby Williams (SEA)

Madi Williams

Riquna Williams (LVA)

Amanda Zahui B. (IND)

Restricted Free Agents

AD Durr (ATL)

Cayla George (LVA)

Ruthy Hebard (CHI)

Joyner Holmes (SEA)

Satou Sabally (DAL)

Yvonne Turner (SEA)

Jocelyn Willoughby (NYL)

Reserved Players

Morgan Bertsch (CHI)

Maya Caldwell (IND)

Anna Cruz (MIN)

Temi Fagbenle (IND)

Rebekah Gardner (CHI)

Bernadett Határ (CON)

Marine Johannès (NYL)

Li Meng (WAS)

Nikolina Milić (MIN)

Robyn Parks (CHI)

Kianna Smith (CON)

Sug Sutton (PHO)

Suspended-Contract Expired

Bella Alarie (DAL)

Julie Allemand (CHI)

Maite Cazorla (ATL)

Maria Conde (CHI)

Han Xu (NYL)

Kitija Laksa (DAL)

Klara Lundquist (WAS)

Astou Ndour (CHI)

Maria Vadeeva (LAS)

Cecilia Zandalasini (MIN)

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