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It’s almost time for another round of WNBA free agency, which, after being essentially irrelevant for much of the league’s early history, is now one of the most important parts of the calendar. A number of big names are hitting the market this year, including former MVPs Breanna Stewart and Nneka Ogwumike, as well multi-time All-Stars Alyssa Thomas, Kelsey Plum and Satou Sabally.
Ahead of all the action, which gets started in full on Jan. 21, here’s a look at everything you need to know about this year’s free agency period. For a full tracker of every signing, go here.
When does free agency start?
From Jan. 11-20, teams can make qualifying offers and “Core player” designations. After that period is over, free agency begins in full. Teams can begin negotiating with free agents on Jan. 21, but players cannot sign contracts or offer sheets until Feb. 1.
Those rules will always be skirted to some extent, but teams caught breaking them will be punished under the league’s tampering rules. Most recently, the Seattle Storm were fined in 2022 for jumping the gun on legendary point guard Sue Bird’s re-signing.
How does WNBA free agency work?
WNBA free agency largely operates just like the NBA. There is a moratorium period where teams can speak to players but not officially sign anything, and free agents are grouped into different classifications that dictate how both they and teams can operate.
The two main groups are unrestricted free agents, who can speak to and sign with any team they want, and restricted free agents, who can speak to and sign with any team they want, but can have that offer matched by their prior team.
The WNBA also has a reserved category, which is for players who hit free agency with fewer than three years of service. Often, these are veterans who entered the league later in their careers, but they can also be younger players who, for whatever reason, were not on a typical rookie-scale contract. The prior team has exclusive negotiating rights with said players, provided that they make a qualifying offer.
Furthermore, in rare instances, players’ contracts can expire while they are suspended. When this happens, players are technically found to be “withholding service,” according to the CBA, and are listed as “suspended — contract expired.” In practice, these players are treated much like reserved players, though the prior team does not have to extend a qualifying offer.
What is the core designation?
The “core designation” is most analogous to the NFL’s franchise tag. If a team uses the core designation on a player, they gain exclusive negotiating rights with them, even if that player was set to be an unrestricted free agent. Teams must be shrewd with this machination, however, as there are limits on its use.
On an organizational level, each team is only allowed to designate one “core” player at a time. If said player then signs a contract with that team, they will be considered their lone designated core player for the entire length of that contract, or until they are traded or the contract is terminated. Speaking of trades, teams are allowed to trade for another team’s core player even if they already have their own core player on the roster, though those situations arise rarely.
On a player level, the limit for how many seasons a player can play under a core designation was lowered to two in 2022. Thus, any player who has spent two or more seasons…
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