The WNBA season is approaching, and the free agency period is about to kick off. Negotiations for free agents will start on Wednesday, April 8th, and teams can officially sign players starting Saturday, April 11th.
Before this, qualifying offers and core player nominations were sent out on April 6th and 7th.
Reserve player: This refers to a player whose contract ends after three years of service. If such a player gets a Reserved Qualifying Offer, they fall under the exclusive negotiating rights of that team. If a team decides against signing the player, they become an unrestricted free agent.
Restricted free agent: This is a player with a minimum of four years of service who has an expiring contract and has received a qualifying offer from their former team. These players can negotiate with other teams, but their original team has the right to match any offer they receive.
Core specification: This is similar to the franchise tag in the WNBA. It allows the organization to keep one veteran free agent at the core of their roster with a fully guaranteed one-year contract equivalent to the supermax. If a player gets such a designation, they can only negotiate or sign a contract with their current team during free agency.
April 8: Negotiations commence
This page will be updated as new information comes in.
April 7: Trade and offers news
The Chicago Sky have traded Angel Reese to the Atlanta Dream in exchange for the 2027 and 2028 first-round draft picks from Atlanta. Additionally, Atlanta gains the right to switch a second-round pick with Chicago in 2028.
Toronto Tempo has given reserved qualifying offers to Maria Klindikova, Julie Allemand, and Nikolina Milic.
The Atlanta Dream has also made reserved qualifying offers to Sika Kone and Lorella Cubai.
Meanwhile, Portland Fire has granted a core eligibility offer to Bridget Carleton, and the Connecticut Sun has extended limited qualifying offers to Olivia Nelson-Ododa and Maminan Toure.
The Las Vegas Aces have made limited qualifying offers to both Nalyssa Smith and Kierstan Bell. The New York Liberty has issued a core eligibility offer to Sabrina Ionescu.
The Seattle Storm has given a reserved qualifying offer to Mackenzie Holmes and the Golden State Valkyries have extended offers to Veronica Barton and Kaitlyn Chen. Portland Fire and Dallas Wings have also sent out reserved qualifying offers to several players, including Emily Engstler and Arike Ogunbowale, respectively.
Washington Mystics have made reserved qualifying offers to players such as Shakira Austin, Madison Scott, and Bernadette Huttar. Furthermore, the Atlanta Dream has granted a core qualifying offer to Alisha Gray.
On April 6, several more qualifying offers were extended, including those from Portland Fire to Haley Jones and Maya Caldwell, and from the Phoenix Mercury to players like Natasha Mack and Monique Akoa Makani.
