Once the regular season concluded, the salary cap status for the Golden State Valkyries was set and everyone’s contract situation at the end of the season was known. There were some late moves by the team to help players out as the team still had plenty of salary cap space. A new CBA could change how some of these players are treated when it comes to free agency, but this is where all of the players with ties to the Valkyries stand at the end of the season.
Time Off Bonuses
The WNBA has tried several different incentives to keep their players from playing for the entire offseason in an effort to keep them healthy and well-rested for the next season. Teams can give out $50,000 in bonuses to players who will play elsewhere for fewer than 90 days. The Valkyries opted to split theirs between two players, giving $25,000 to Veronica Burton and $20,000 to Kayla Thornton as reported by Richard Cohen of Her Hoop Stats. Many players are not interested in these bonuses due to their existing overseas plans that would allow them to earn more money overall. The bonuses brought the Valkyries above the salary floor, so no additional money will be distributed to other players.
Players Under Contract
Only two Valkyries players currently have contracts for next season as they are still on their rookie deals. Under current rules, Kate Martin is entering the third year of that contract and the Valkyries would have to make a decision on whether to exercise the option to add a guaranteed fourth year to that contract by mid-May. Carla Leite is entering the second year of her rookie contract, which is unguaranteed like the third year.
Reserved Players
Four players who do not have a contract for next season have not accrued enough service time in the league to be free agents and the Valkyries currently have their exclusive signing rights. While the CBA could change how this works in the future, it seems likely that there would not be any drastic changes taking effect immediately, so the expectation should be that only the Valkyries can make them an offer. Janelle Salaun, Laeticia Amihere, Kaitlyn Chen, and Iliana Rupert are the players who are in this category.
Restricted Free Agents
Players become restricted free agents once their contracts expire as they complete their fourth year of service. That means that they can sign offer sheets with other teams in the league, but their previous team has the ability to match them, meaning that they would return to that team under those terms. For the Valkyries, the players falling under this category are Veronica Burton and Cecilia Zandalasini. While the CBA could change how this works in the future, it seems likely that there would not be any drastic changes taking effect immediately.
Unrestricted Free Agents
Four players are unrestricted free agents now, although the current CBA has a provision that allows teams to core one player, which removes their free agent status, but gives them at least a one-year contract at the maximum allowable salary. A new CBA could change those rules, but for now, all four players on the Valkyries meet the criteria for that core deal even though the team is not obligated to extend it to any of them. Tiffany Hayes, Kayla Thornton, Monique Billings, and Temi Fagbenle all fall in this category.
Exclusive Signing Rights
The Valkyries continue to have the exclusive signing rights to two players who were not on the team this year. Juste Jocyte is planning to join the team next year after she was the team’s first draft pick this year. She would be subject to whatever new rookie contract rules are put into place when the CBA take effect. The team also still has the signing rights for Maria Conde after her rookie contract expired without her ever playing under it. Whether she has interest in trying to join the team remains to be seen as she is recovering from a major injury.
Replacement Contracts
Players who end the season on replacement contracts become complete free agents regardless of how many years they have spent in the league, instead of being treated like players under regular contracts. Kaila Charles is the only Valkyries player that this applies to as she filled in due to all of the long-term injuries.
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