The New York Liberty have established themselves as the early winners of WNBA free agency after two big moves on Saturday. In a stunning move, All-Star forward Satou Sabally has agreed to sign with New York, according to ESPN. Additionally, 2024 Finals MVP Jonquel Jones is re-signing with the Liberty, per the New York Post.
Breanna Stewart and Sabrina Ionescu have both previously expressed their desire to return to the Big Apple, which means the Liberty will have one of the most talented groups in recent memory, no matter how they fill out the rest of the roster.
Kelsey Plum, meanwhile, is headed back to the Las Vegas Sparks, but with a twist: she's taking a one-year deal significantly below the supermax to give her team "financial flexibility," according to ESPN. Now the big question is how the Sparks spend that money.
Elsewhere, the Chicago Sky have agreed to a deal with seven-time All-Star Skylar Diggins, who played the last two seasons with the Seattle Storm. Diggins' arrival continues Chicago's on-the-fly rebuild, which also included signing Azurá Stevens on Saturday, acquiring Jacy Sheldon via trade and sending Angel Reese to the Atlanta Dream for two first-round picks.
The biggest surprise thus far has been Nneka Ogwumike's decision to leave the Storm and return to the Los Angeles Sparks, according to ESPN. Ogwumike was the No. 1 overall pick in the 2012 WNBA Draft, and in 2016, she was named the MVP while helping the Sparks win the title. Now, she'll return to Los Angeles.
Elsewhere, the reigning champion Las Vegas Aces have been busy, agreeing to deals with Jackie Young, Chelsea Gray and Jewell Loyd, per ESPN. Reigning MVP and Finals MVP A'ja Wilson previously told reporters that she plans to re-sign in Las Vegas. The Aces will have their entire core back.
As of Saturday, signings can become official, and the Toronto Tempo, one of the two expansion teams joining the league this season, announced the arrivals of Marina Mabrey, Brittney Sykes and Julie Allemand on multi-year deals. Other notable deals include Brittney Griner agreeing to join the Sun for the franchise's last season in Connecticut (per Terrika Foster-Brasby), Alyssa Thomas agreeing to return to the Phoenix Mercury (per ESPN) and Kelsey Mitchell agreeing to a one-year supermax deal with the Indiana Fever (per ESPN). Sophie Cunningham is also headed back to the Fever on a one-year deal (per ESPN).
Here's a look at the free agency schedule:
WNBA free agency key dates
- April 6-7: Teams can make qualifying offers and "core" player designations
- April 8-10: Teams can begin negotiating with free agents, but no deals can be signed
- April 11: Players can officially sign contracts and offer sheets
With a new CBA agreed to by players and the league, this is the biggest free agency class in league history. Aside from Kalani Brown and Lexie Brown, every single player not on a rookie scale contract is a free agent, including Wilson, Collier and Stewart. This will also be the richest free agency class in history. Thanks to the new collective bargaining agreement, the minimum salary in 2026 will be more than $100,000 higher than the supermax in 2025.
The supermax in 2026 is set at $1.4 million, and players like Wilson, Napheesa Collier and Breanna Stewart are expected to sign it and stay with their incumbent teams.
2026 WNBA salaries
2025 | $66,079 | $120,000 | $249,244 |
2026 | $270K -- $300K (based on years of service) | $583,000 | $1.4 million |
There will inevitably be some movement and some surprises, however. And we'll be keeping track of the most notable moves right here during 2026 WNBA free agency. Below is our free-agent tracker for the top 50 players in the class.
2026 WNBA free agency tracker
