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The WNBA faces potential historic player movement as over 100 athletes, including many top stars, become free agents in 2026 amidst media rights deal changes.
NEW YORK — WNBA training camps just opened and there are already so many eyes on the 2026 season when more than 100 players will be free agents.
Nearly all of the league’s top players could be on the move, including 20 of last season’s All-Stars.
“It’s a fact that the majority of veterans will be unrestricted free agents after this season based on current contracts. It’s unclear if that will equate to a ton of player movement,” Atlanta Dream general manager Dan Padover said. “But everything is set up that it could be the most player movement in WNBA history. I think every franchise is looking at it differently.
“Our most important priority is taking care of our Dream players in 2025 and beyond.”
Though teams and players say the focus now is winning a championship in 2025, the uncertainty of what “beyond” looks like is keeping front office staff around the league up at night.
“Everything can change. It’s kind of fascinating. we won’t really know what the gameboard looks like until we get the new CBA,” ESPN analyst Rebecca Lobo said. “Any team could theoretically become a super team. It could be Golden State, it could Toronto or Portland in their first year. It could completely change the power dynamic as we see it.”
A’ja Wilson and Breanna Stewart are among the star-studded group on one-year contracts, knowing that a new collective bargaining agreement will hopefully be in place next season that is expected to monumentally increase salaries. The WNBA begins an 11-year $2.2 billion media rights deal in 2026 which is where the shift will come from.
Most of the players who won’t be free agents are the ones on rookie contracts — including Caitlin Clark and Angel Reese. The pair, who were rookies last season, earn about $75,000 in base pay. Currently, WNBA players can have a maximum base salary of $250,000.
While there hasn’t been a media rights deal like this in the WNBA’s 28-year history, when the NBA had an exponential increase in its TV deal in 2016, that league’s salary cap increased about 35%.
It’s not just increased salaries, however, that will entice free agents to move. Many of the players who changed teams this offseason cited practice facilities as a factor in choosing where they’ll go.
Currently Phoenix, Las Vegas, Golden State and Seattle have dedicated practice facilities for their WNBA teams while Minnesota and Washington share their facilities with NBA franchises. New York, Dallas, Chicago and Indiana have ones in the works.
“I think facilities are a huge piece of it,” Lobo said. “You heard how much players talked about that with Vegas a few years ago. Players were posting about Phoenix’s new facility at All-Star last year.”
It’s also about the culture around a franchise that makes it inviting to players.
Atlanta made a splash in free agency this winter, signing Brittney Griner and Brionna Jones. Padover hopes to keep them beyond this season. Both will be free agents again next year.
Free agency has never lined up like this before for the league. While New York, Las Vegas, Minnesota and Indiana are considered the top teams heading into this season, that could all be different next year.
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