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The WNBA’s free agency calendar officially began on Jan. 11, when teams were first able to send out qualifying offers and make core decisions. Players can then start discussing deals from Jan. 21 and sign contracts from Feb. 1, again using last year’s dates as a guide. We here at Her Hoop Stats beat them to it. For the fourth time, we handed the reins of each franchise over to a group of knowledgeable WNBA writers and simulated the offseason in podcast form (with thanks for the inspiration still due to the Dunc’d On Podcast’s NBA variant). Following all the official league rules and using the accurate team and player salary data you can find on our cap sheets, we went through all the negotiations and haggling that you’d expect in reality - with the same mathematical constraints and hurdles that the real general managers have to struggle with. (If you have any questions about the terms used or contract varieties, check out our WNBA CBA and Salary Cap Explained page.)
Gabe Ibrahim hosted and served as the player agent, looking for the best opportunities and deals for each player; Sabreena Merchant of The Athletic played GM of the Los Angeles Sparks and Phoenix Mercury; Kevin Pelton of ESPN controlled the Seattle Storm and Dallas Wings; Nekias Duncan of The Dunker Spot podcast and WNBA.com piloted the Connecticut Sun and Washington Mystics; Richard Cohen handled the New York Liberty and Indiana Fever; Alford Corriette took on the Las Vegas Aces and Chicago Sky; and Bobby Mummery rounded out the group with the Atlanta Dream and Minnesota Lynx. Jacob Mox of Her Hoop Stats was also on the call as the league office to help keep track and make sure that everyone stayed within the rules.
For all the twists and turns of GMs making decisions and deals, and battling each other for different players, you’ll have to listen to the podcast on YouTube, Apple Podcasts, Spotify or wherever you get your podcasts. However, for a basic summary of the moves and contracts, you can check out the lists below:
Core Qualifying Offers Extended (Bold - Guaranteed Deal):
Breanna Stewart re-signed with New York, 2 Years/$410,000 ($205,000/$205,000)
Unrestricted Free Agent Contracts Signed (Bold - Guaranteed Deal):
Nneka Ogwumike re-signed with Los Angeles, 2 Years/$491,228 ($241,984/$249,244)
Alanna Smith signed with Seattle, 3 Years/$643,397 ($208,219/$214,466/$220,712)
DeWanna Bonner re-signed with Connecticut, 2 Years/$422,685 ($208,219/$214,466)
Skylar Diggins-Smith signed with Washington, 2 Years/$422,685 ($208,219/$214,466)
Jonquel Jones re-signed with New York, 2 Years/$410,000 ($205,000/$205,000)
Elena Delle Donne re-signed with Washington, 2 Years/$400,000 ($200,000/$200,000)
Brionna Jones re-signed with Connecticut, 2 Years/$390,000 ($195,000/$195,000)
Jordin Canada signed with Connecticut, 2 Years/$380,000 ($190,000/$190,000)
Courtney Williams re-signed with Chicago, 2 Years/$360,000 ($180,000/$180,000)
Rebecca Allen re-signed with Connecticut, 2 Years/$360,000 ($180,000/$180,000)
Natasha Cloud signed with New York, 2 Years/$340,000 ($170,000/$170,000)
Nia Coffey signed with Chicago, 2 Years/$340,000 ($170,000/$170,000)
Brittney Griner re-signed with Phoenix, 1 Year/$165,000
Katie Lou Samuelson signed with Las Vegas, 1 Year/$140,000
Bridget Carleton signed with Phoenix, 2 Years/$270,000 ($135,000/$135,000)
Layshia Clarendon re-signed with Los Angeles, 2 Years/$240,000 ($120,000/$120,000)
Aerial Powers signed with Las Vegas, 1 Year/$120,000
Candace Parker re-signed with Las Vegas, 1 Year/$100,000
Restricted Free Agent Contracts Signed (# - Sign-and-Trade, Bold - Guaranteed Deal):
Satou Sabally re-signed with Dallas, 2 Years/$422,685 ($208,219/$214,466)
#Ruthy Hebard signed with New York, 1 Year/$87,354 (Qualifying Offer)
Suspended-Contract Expired Players Signed (# - Sign-and-Trade, Bold - Guaranteed Deal):
Han Xu re-signed with New York, 1 Year/$76,535
Sign-and-Trade Details:
Chicago traded Dana Evans and the Restricted Free Agency Rights to Ruthy Hebard to New York for NYL’s 2024 First-Round Pick (No. 11) and the Restricted Free Agency Rights to Jocelyn Willoughby
Other Trades:
New York traded Courtney Vandersloot and NYL’s 2024 Second-Round Pick (No. 23) to Seattle for SEA’s 2025 First-Round Pick
Phoenix traded Moriah Jefferson, PHO’s 2025 Second-Round Pick, and PHO’s 2024 Third-Round Pick (No. 25) to Atlanta for Haley Jones and ATL’s 2024 Third-Round Pick (No. 32)
Chicago traded Isabelle Harrison, Sika Koné, the lesser of CHI and DAL’s 2025 First-Round Pick, CHI’s 2026 First-Round Pick, PHO’s 2024 Second-Round Pick (No. 13), the Suspended Player Rights to Julie Allemand, and the Suspended Player Rights to Astou Ndour to Minnesota for Dorka Juhász and MIN’s 2024 First-Round Pick (No. 7)
Seattle traded Kia Nurse, SEA’s 2024 Second-Round Pick (No. 14), and SEA’s 2025 Second-Round Pick to Los Angeles for LAS’s 2025 Third-Round Pick
Connecticut traded Tyasha Harris and CON’s 2024 Second-Round Pick (No. 22) to Minnesota for PHO’s 2024 Second-Round Pick (No. 13)
Significant Players Waived:
None
Qualifying Offers Not Extended:
Joyner Holmes (Restricted)
Notable Free Agents We Excluded (Prioritization Questions):
Emma Meesseman
Gabby Williams
Marine Johannès
Notable Free Agents and Reserved Players We Didn’t Get To:
Monique Billings
Kiah Stokes
Diamond DeShields
Danielle Robinson
Jasmine Thomas
Stefanie Dolson
Kalani Brown
Tianna Hawkins
Lindsay Allen
Rachel Banham
Megan Gustafson
Natalie Achonwa
Amanda Zahui B.
Emma Cannon
Sydney Colson
Shey Peddy
Karlie Samuelson
Asia Durr (AD)
Jocelyn Willoughby
Cayla George
Rae Burrell
Liz Dixon
Rebekah Gardner
Sug Sutton
Nikolina Milić
Li Meng
Morgan Bertsch
Joyner Holmes
Maya Caldwell
Ivana Dojkić
Chennedy Carter
Tina Charles
Thanks for reading the Her Hoop Stats Newsletter. If you like our work, be sure to check out our stats site, our podcast, and our social media accounts on Twitter, YouTube, Facebook, and Instagram.
The Natasha Cloud deal to New York seems interesting but will it happen and at what price?
Man, I want Cloud to go to the Storm. But NYL’s perimeter defense was crap outside of Laney so I could see this being a big plus for them if they want to contend against the Aces.
The Kia Nurse trade makes absolutely no sense to me tho, not that she’s traded, but her, plus 2 second round picks for a third round pick makes sense in what world??