The lottery teams are ordered, the expansion team has players and the rest of the WNBA is readying to tweak its rosters in pursuit of a championship.

The 2025 WNBA free agency negotiating window opens this week with a handful of star names and former MVPs leading the pack. The most movement is expected to come via trades, as the most notable names are likely to stay with their franchises and multiple players are set up for sign-and-trade deals.

It will be a one-and-done market with few, if any, multi-year deals in the works. Players generally haven’t been signing beyond 2025 (except for four-year rookie contracts) due to an expected pay bump, salary cap increase and better benefit packages under a new collective bargaining agreement. The union announced it had opted out of the CBA the day after the WNBA Finals concluded.

Franchises are heading into this free agency with that in mind, knowing the 2026 window will be somewhat of a chaos-filled free-for-all should the sides come to an agreement on a new CBA.

When does WNBA free agency begin?

Free agency opens Tuesday when teams can begin negotiating with players. Free agents can begin signing contracts Feb. 1.

What is the 2025 salary cap and player max?

The hard salary cap is $1,507,100, according to Her Hoop Stats, and teams must carry between 11 and 12 players.

The supermax for players with at least five years of service re-signing with their current teams is $249,244 and the regular max is $214,466. The player minimum is $66,079 for players between 0 and 2 years, and $78,831 for those with three or more years.

What teams have significant cap space?

The Connecticut Sun and Golden State Valkyries will be major players in free agency with more than $1 million in cap room each. No one from the Sun’s run as the league’s winningest franchise (albeit a championship-less stretch) is signed, leaving the small-market franchise with $1,116,264 in room.

The Valkyries did not take on significant guaranteed contracts in the expansion draft and lead the league with $1,201,505 available. Team owner Joe Lacob made it clear the goal is a championship within five years, and the team’s leadership duo has that experience. Head coach Natalie Nakase won two titles as an assistant with the Aces, where guard Kelsey Plum is an unrestricted free agent, and general manager Ohemaa Nyanin assisted in the Liberty superteam build as an assistant GM.

Chicago ($923,625), Phoenix ($798,966) and Seattle ($712,377) are next in cap room. The Sky are rebuilding around Angel Reese and Kamilla Cardoso, who are both on rookie contracts (less than $80K each). Phoenix will give more than half of its room to Diana Taurasi and Brittney Griner, presuming both veterans return to the desert. The Storm, offseason subjects of a player mistreatment investigation, are in a sticky spot despite that much room on the books. All-Star guard and two-time champion Jewell Loyd, whom the franchise wanted to build around, has asked for a trade.

The Sparks ($470,930) and Finals runner-up Lynx ($401,278) have the least cap room available. Los Angeles will be looking for 3-point shooters under first-year head coach Lynne Roberts’ philosophy. And the Lynx aren’t likely to make many splashes after coming agonizingly close to a WNBA championship last season.

What is a core designation?

Teams made qualifying offers and core designations to players ahead of free agency’s official opening. Similar to the NFL’s franchise tag, teams use the core to gain exclusive negotiating rights with their unrestricted free agents for a one-year, fully guaranteed supermax contract that can be negotiated at longer terms. Or, teams will core an outgoing UFA to negotiate a sign-and-trade so the franchise doesn’t let a player go for nothing in return.

Teams can only have one core player rostered at a time, and players can only be under a core designation for two seasons. That rule excludes UFAs Tina Charles (Dream), DeWanna Bonner (Sun), Brionna Jones (Sun), Natasha Howard (Wings), Brittney Griner (Mercury) and Nneka Ogwumike (Storm) from being cored.

The core offers extended this week, by player: Kelsey Plum (Aces), Satou Sabally (Wings), Breanna Stewart (Liberty), Gabby Williams (Storm), Kelsey Mitchell (Fever) and Alyssa Thomas (Sun).

All are potential sign-and-trade contenders except Stewart, who won her third WNBA championship as a member of the Liberty.

Who are the top 2025 unrestricted free agents?

Former MVPs Breanna Stewart (Liberty, forward), Nneka Ogwumike (Storm, forward), Tina Charles (Dream, forward), Elena Delle Donne (Mystics, forward) and Diana Taurasi (Mercury, guard) are all unrestricted free agents.

Stewart, coming off her third WNBA championship and first with the Liberty, was cored, while Taurasi is mulling retirement following a 20-year career. Delle Donne sat out the 2024 season after the Mystics used the core designation on her, but could not broker a sign-and-trade. There is no indication of her future plans.

Other top free agents include Alysha Clark (Aces, forward), Brionna Jones (Sun, center), Courtney Vandersloot (Liberty), DeWanna Bonner (Sun, forward), Brittney Griner (Mercury, center), Natasha Howard (Wings, forward) and Tiffany Hayes (Aces, guard/forward).

Monique Billings was the Valkyries' UFA selection in the expansion draft. The team has the option to core her.

Who are restricted free agents?

DiJonai Carrington (Sun, guard) is the best RFA on the market, and the Sun will want to retain their Most Improved Player.

The future of the Sky’s Chennedy Carter, Dana Evans and Michaela Onyenwere is less clear. Carter had the best season of her career with first-year head coach Teresa Weatherspoon. New head coach Tyler Marsh, a two-time champion assisting the Aces, may opt to go another direction. Evans’ tenure in Chicago has been rocky without much room to develop. She could use a change of scenery.

Temi Fagbenle (Valkyries) and Aari McDonald (Sparks) are the only other RFAs.

Who might be on the move?

Satou Sabally, the No. 2 pick in the 2020 draft, said last week during Unrivaled media availability she would not return to Dallas. She’s endured multiple injuries over her short career, but is one of the league’s most versatile forwards. The Wings used their core designation on her on Monday. Sabally said the sides are working together to find her a landing spot. Indiana, where she would pair with Caitlin Clark, and New York, with sister Nyara Sabally and former Oregon teammate Sabrina Ionescu, are both top destinations to watch.

Most free agents playing for Unrivaled were mum on their WNBA futures, including Courtney Vandersloot, Alyssa Thomas and Tiffany Hayes.

Vandersloot, who turns 36 next month, moved to a bench role for the Liberty’s postseason run. While she said she wants to compete for a third championship, she also wants to “have the ball in my hand and to be able to create the way I think I can,” which may lead to an exit.

Thomas, an MVP candidate who has played all 11 years in Connecticut, was more vocal over the course of the 2024 season about the lack of amenities in the small market. With more eyes on the league than ever before, a photo of the Sun’s postseason practice held in half a gymnasium while a birthday party took place on the other side made waves. She is also chasing her first championship.

Hayes, the reigning Sixth Player of the Year, came out of retirement to join the Aces weeks into the season. Head coach Becky Hammon said after their semifinal loss to expect changes, and if the 35-year-old guard doesn’t re-sign with the Aces, she may decide to re-enter retirement. Or join Natalie Nakase in Golden State as a veteran leader.

What matters most to free agents?

Money talks, but players aren’t swayed by big contracts alone. Only three players were signed to supermax deals in 2024 (the Storm’s Jewell Loyd, the Mercury’s Kahleah Copper and the Wings’ Arike Ogunbowale). Some of the game’s biggest names took lesser deals, opting instead for amenities. Franchises that invest in the product and its players have won big in prior free agencies, headlined by the Aces (Candace Parker, Alysha Clark) and Liberty (Courtney Vandersloot, Breanna Stewart).

The WNBA is at the tail end of a practice facility arms race, and franchises that don’t have them or haven’t taken the steps to build individual, team-specific facilities are falling behind.

The situation in Connecticut will be particularly interesting to follow as it has significant cap room, but practices at the semi-public Mohegan Community and Government Center where there are sometimes scheduling conflicts. Alyssa Thomas was more than vocal about the lack of amenities in the small market this season.

The Atlanta Dream, who haven’t had a winning season since 2018, have a contract with a professional-level facility about 25 miles from their arena.

Significant changes to the last CBA in 2020 sparked a player empowerment era in which free agents are deciding to play together in certain locales. A year ago, it was Seattle. Golden State could be the spot this free agency period.

How will Unrivaled impact WNBA free agency?

Unrivaled, the 3x3 league launched by Breanna Stewart and Napheesa Collier, tipped off Friday, featuring 36 of the league’s stars. It is the first domestic offseason league with such star power, joining Athletes Unlimited as a way players can stay home, make money and expand their games.

The Unrivaled experience was compared by players to the 2020 bubble season in terms of players being with each other, but with far more freedom around the complex and the greater Miami area. That proximity could lead to free agent pairings.

“I’m sure there will be a lot of people in town to meet with teams and I see free agents in the hallways,” Courtney Vandersloot said during Unrivaled availability. “I think it’s a great place to be if you’re a free agent.”

They’re also competing with different teammates — an aspect Satou Sabally, coming off her rookie deal, pointed out — and can develop a feel for whom they want to play alongside for an entire WNBA season.

"I'm able to talk to a lot of players across the league because I have not played on a different team yet, and I'm excited to get to know them more on a personal level, but also knowing how they approach the game,” Sabally said. “And I just love having basketball conversations and high-level IQ conversations about the game to know where I will fit best in the future."

There are seven WNBA free agents playing in Unrivaled and at least four in AU, which tips its fantasy-style league next month. The Unrivaled group is Alyssa Thomas, Sabally, Tiffany Hayes, Breanna Stewart, Vandersloot, Brittney Griner and DiJonai Carrington. Alysha Clark, forward Isabelle Harrison (Sky), guard Sydney Colson (Aces) and guard Kia Nurse (Sparks) are committed to AU.