2025 WNBA Free Agency Negotiations Begin

The period for teams to make qualifying offer decisions has passed and the status of all players has been set for the opening of free agency. Now teams can spend the rest of the month negotiating players, but most deals, including players signing with new teams, cannot begin until February. With so much salary cap space and stated ambitions, the Golden State Valkyries are likely to be involved in their share of rumors about interest in various players. Teams can also make trades that will help set up their rosters for the signings that later get announced.

Golden State Valkyries Make Final Decision

After making their easiest decisions to maintain their rights to some of the players selected in the Expansion Draft, the Valkyries still had one decision to make before the deadline. They ended up not sending Monique Billings the core qualifying offer, which would have given her the ability to sign a contract that guaranteed her the maximum salary for this year. As a result, she is an unrestricted free agent again and Golden State has no exclusive rights anymore. As unexpected as her initial selection was, it was not particularly surprising that they did not give her that offer once they had the chance to evaluate all of their options.

Other Teams Decline Rights

The other twelve teams had also been officially making decisions during this time as well and most of the obvious choices were made, but there were still a few unexpected choices. There were rumblings that Chicago was not planning on retaining Chennedy Carter, but that final decision was still a little surprising considering that it could be withdrawn. That does lead to some wondering about whether they also left her unprotected in the expansion draft, meaning that the Valkyries already declined to acquire her restricted free agency rights and may not have been able to find a trade for her that they viewed as more valuable than selecting exclusive negotiating rights with Maria Conde.

There were also some other players who are now free agents after their previous teams opted not to send them the minimum contract offers. In some cases, the teams already know that they are not planning on signing the player and are not stopping them from pursuing other options instead of trying to trade those rights. Queen Egbo was the most proven in the WNBA of the group after a promising rookie season was followed by stops with a few different teams, but Las Vegas expects to have a fuller frontcourt this season and might not need her to fill a stopgap role again. Charisma Osborne was viewed to have strong potential before she was drafted, but had limited chances in Phoenix to show what she could do. Olivia Epoupa is an older player who made her debut last season, but was considered an emergency point guard in Minnesota. Li Meng did not play for Washington last season and them not sending her an offer could indicate that she is not planning on trying to make the team this season to play for China’s national team.

Cored Player Designations

While team were able to apply the core designation to one of their unrestricted free agents who had not played under the tag for two years, that does not mean that those players will sign that one year maximum contract and play with that team. Satou Sabally already broadcast to the media that she will no longer play for the Dallas Wings so the team will look into trade opportunities. Other players may also look to move without announcing their intentions for now.

Free Agency Recruiting

While a number of players will be trying to stay with their current teams, there will be players looking to move. The Valkyries may not be able to compete for players who are looking to win a championship this season, the opportunities for playing time and large salaries will be attractive to some players. The ability to be a key part of a new team and having established facilities and a history of the ownership treating the Warriors well will also help with recruitment. In other years, the uncertainty of an expansion team might keep players away, but with pretty much all players expected to prefer a one-year contract to open up the chance of a large raise in 2026 with a new CBA, the risk is not as high and being a key player, even if the team struggles, could increase the offers available next year.

Salary Cap Space

There are still a lot of decisions to be made, but the Valkyries could very well be in position to afford three maximum salaries since their cap is so clear to start. The frontcourt options in terms of full free agency are more numerous than the guard choices so a trade might be needed for a key player there. The negotiations themselves could take place virtually or in a variety of places. With the Unrivaled competition starting at the perfect time around free agency, teams have been able to head to Miami to talk to free agents and coordinate with their current players, who are also doing their own share of recruiting. This is easier than some of the overseas travel that teams have had to do in the past to get in front of the biggest free agents right at the start of the process.

While the team is likely to at least try to sign Nneka Ogwumike, they might then need to pursue Natasha Howard or Brionna Jones to start building their frontcourt. Once they figure out the largest contracts, they will be able fill out the rest of the roster, but some of those players who are not necessarily going to get a large offer will still have interest from a number of teams. While there are a number of veterans in free agency, including record-chasers Tina Charles and Courtney Vandersloot with Brittney Griner unexpectedly announcing that she would at least consider options other than Phoenix, there are also a number of players who are very much in their primes like Natisha Hiedeman and Myisha Hines-Allen from Minnesota who could be looking for significant playing time.