WNBA teams are less than a month away from beginning the negotiation period for the 2025 offseason, which means the Liberty are approaching another important offseason for a franchise with a championship window wide open.
The 2025 offseason projects to be less eventful than 2024 when three starters went into the winter as unrestricted free agents.
This time around, they’ll have two unrestricted free agents who finished the regular season as starters. General manager Jonathan Kolb and the front office can begin negotiation with those free agents beginning on Jan. 21. The team can sign those players to contracts beginning on Feb. 1.
Here’s a look at the Liberty free agents this offseason.
BREANNA STEWART
Here we are again.
The Liberty and Stewart enter the 2025 offseason in the same position as last year: At the end of a one-year deal with both sides more than likely to reunite for another season.
In 2024, Kolb used a core designation on Stewart after her MVP season, which kept the star off the open market and gave the franchise exclusive negotiating rights. Weeks later, the two sides came to terms on a one-year deal. The same could happen in 2025. However, if Stewart is cored again, she can no longer be cored for the rest of her career. Per WNBA rules, once a player has played for at least two seasons under a contract or contracts that they signed while cored, that player can’t be cored again.
The Liberty could also re-sign the 2024 All-WNBA First Team selection without using the designation while she’s free to negotiate with other teams. The chances of Stewart not running it back with the Liberty are unlikely, though, given the team’s championship window, presence as a team in the New York market and her own willingness to stay with the squad.
“I’m excited for what we’re doing here in New York and with the Liberty,” Stewart said after the 2023 season before being cored. “Its been amazing to be a part of and I’m looking forward to doing it for many years to come.”
The biggest question is the length of Stewart’s upcoming deal. Players may position themselves for unprecedented paydays as unrestricted free agents in 2026, when the league — and its franchises — will be showered with new money under a possible new CBA and media rights deal.
COURTNEY VANDERSLOOT
Vandersloot was a starter at the end of the 2024 regular season, but lost the role in the postseason after Sandy Brondello replaced her with Leonie Fiebich in Game 1 of the first-round series against the Atlanta Dream.
Vandersloot, who’ll be 36 at the start of the 2025 WNBA season, hasn’t signaled an end to her playing career. And her upcoming debut in new 3-on-3 league Unrivaled further shows retirement may not come soon.
But considering her lessened role — and her age — a reunion with the Liberty could come on a short-term deal at a cheaper price tag.
A paycut isn’t farfetched to the future Hall of Famer, as she decided to take such a deal when joining forces with Stewart in New York prior to the 2024 WNBA season.
KENNEDY BURKE
The need for Burke instantly increased after the Liberty lost Kayla Thornton to the Golden State Valkyries in the December expansion draft.
Burke, who averaged just 3.4 points in 12.1 minutes per game, could get a heightened role with sixth woman Thornton out of the rotation.
Burke, though, could be coveted on the open market just like Thornton was in the expansion draft.
RESERVED PLAYERS
Fan favorite Jaylyn Sherrod and Ivana Djokic are both exclusive rights free agents, or reserve players. Players with this designation get tendered a qualifying offer and can only negotiate with their current team.
The two could be back in seafoam to round out the bench unit in 2025.
