After a long and generally uneventful first few months of the offseason, it’s time for things to pick up in earnest. Earlier this month, the 2022 WNBA free agency period got underway. For most of the league’s history, free agency wasn’t much of an event, but that’s changed thanks to the most recent collective bargaining agreement.
Like last year, this year’s class features a number of big names, including three of the last four MVPs: Jonquel Jones, A’ja Wilson and Breanna Stewart. Reigning Finals MVP Kahleah Copper is also hitting the market, as are other stars like Liz Cambage, Courtney Vandersloot, Jewell Loyd and Angel McCoughtry.
Ahead of Saturday, here is everything you need to know about 2022 WNBA free agency:
When does it start?
Teams are allowed to start talking with players on Jan. 15, but no deals can officially be signed until Feb. 1. While those rules are skirted to some extent — much like in the NBA — teams that are caught breaking them will get punished, as we saw recently when the Seattle Storm were fined for announcing a new deal with Sue Bird well ahead of the starting dates.
How does WNBA free agency work?
In general, it works just like it does in the NBA. Once free agency begins, teams can start talking to players, who are grouped into different classifications based on their contracts. Most players will be unrestricted (can talk to and sign with any team they want) or restricted (prior team has the ability to match any contract offer).
There are also some players who are reserved. These are players who have spent three or fewer seasons in the league, and their prior team has exclusive negotiating rights. Often these are veterans who came into the WNBA later in their career, but they can also be younger players who went undrafted or were not on a typical rookie scale contract for whatever reason.
Finally, the WNBA has a unique designation called “core players.” This operates similar to a franchise tag in the NFL, and grants teams exclusive negotiating rights with a player. Most often players who are “cored” will re-sign with their former team, but in some instances, teams will negotiate sign-and-trade deals. Teams generally use the core designation on stars, but they must do so wisely because players can only be “cored” three times in their career.
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2022 free agents
Here’s a look at every player hitting free agency this winter, separated by classification.
Core
Unrestricted
|
Rebecca Allen |
New York Liberty |
G/F |
Unsigned |
|
|
Jillian Alleyne |
Minnesota Lynx |
F |
Unsigned |
|
|
Rachel Banham |
Minnesota Lynx |
G |
Unsigned |
|
|
Sue Bird |
Seattle Storm |
G |
||
|
Crystal Bradford |
Atlanta Dream |
Chicago Sky |
G/F |
|
|
Jessica Breland |
Indiana Fever |
F |
Unsigned |
|
|
Cierra Burdick |
Seattle Storm |
F |
Unsigned |
|
|
Liz Cambage |
Las Vegas Aces |
C |
Unsigned |
|
|
Tina Charles |
Washington Mystics |
F/C |
Unsigned |
|
|
Layshia Clarendon |
Minnesota Lynx |
Minnesota Lynx |
G |
|
|
Nia Coffey |
Los Angeles Sparks |
G/F |
Unsigned |
|
|
Sophie Cunningham |
Phoenix Mercury |
Phoenix Mercury |
G |
|
|
Blake Dietrick |
Atlanta Dream |
G |
Unsigned |
|
|
Stefanie Dolson |
Chicago Sky |
New York Liberty |
F/C |
|
|
Candice Dupree |
Atlanta Dream |
F |
Unsigned |
|
|
Sylvia Fowles |
Minnesota Lynx |
C |
Unsigned |
|
|
Reshanda Gray |
New York Liberty |
F |
Unsigned |
|
|
Tiffany Hayes |
Atlanta Dream |
Atlanta Dream |
G |
|
|
Briann January |
Connecticut Sun |
G |
Unsigned |
|
|
Angel McCoughtry |
Las Vegas Aces |
Minnesota Lynx |
G/F |
|
|
Emma Meesseman |
Washington Mystics |
Chicago Sky |
G |
Reportedly agreed to deal |
|
Leilani Mitchell |
Washington Mystics |
G |
Unsigned |
|
|
Astou Ndour-Fall |
Chicago Sky |
F/C |
Unsigned |
|
|
Sonja Petrovic |
Phoenix Mercury |
G |
Unsigned |
|
|
Theresa Plaisance |
Washington Mystics |
F/C |
Unsigned |
|
|
Allie Quigley |
Chicago Sky |
G |
Unsigned |
|
|
Angel Robinson |
Phoenix Mercury |
F/C |
Unsigned |
|
|
Odyssey Sims |
Atlanta Dream |
G |
Unsigned |
|
|
Alanna Smith |
Phoenix Mercury |
F |
Unsigned |
|
|
Breanna Stewart |
Seattle Storm |
Seattle Storm |
F |
|
|
Kiah Stokes |
Las Vegas Aces |
Atlanta Dream |
C |
|
|
Shekinna Stricklen |
Atlanta Dream |
G/F |
Unsigned |
|
|
Courtney Vandersloot |
Chicago Sky |
G |
Unsigned |
|
|
Shatori Walker-Kimbrough |
Washington Mystics |
G |
Unsigned |
|
|
Courtney Williams |
Atlanta Dream |
G |
Unsigned |
|
|
Elizabeth Williams |
Atlanta Dream |
Washington Mystics |
C |
|
|
Riquna Williams |
Las Vegas Aces |
G |
Unsigned |
|
|
Shavonte Zellous |
Washington Mystics |
G |
Unsigned |
Restricted
|
Lindsay Allen |
Indiana Fever |
G |
Qualifying offer extended |
|
|
Monique Billings |
Atlanta Dream |
F |
Qualifying offer extended |
|
|
Lexi Brown |
Chicago Sky |
G |
Qualifying offer extended |
|
|
Jordin Canada |
Seattle Storm |
G |
Qualifying offer extended |
|
|
Diamond DeShields |
Chicago Sky |
G |
Qualifying offer extended |
|
|
Myisha Hines-Allen |
Washington Mystics |
Washington Mystics |
F |
|
|
Kia Nurse |
Phoenix Mercury |
G |
Qualifying offer extended |
|
|
Mercedes Russell |
Seattle Storm |
Seattle Storm |
C |
|
|
Stephanie Talbot |
Seattle Storm |
F |
Qualifying offer extended |
|
|
A’ja Wilson |
Las Vegas Aces |
F |
Qualifying offer extended |
Reserved
|
Te’a Cooper |
Los Angeles Sparks |
Los Angeles Sparks |
G |
Signed training camp contract |
|
Anna Cruz |
Minnesota Lynx |
G |
Qualifying offer extended |
|
|
Temi Fagbenle |
Indiana Fever |
C |
Qualifying offer extended |
|
|
Bernadett Hatar |
Indiana Fever |
C |
Qualifying offer extended |
|
|
Stephanie Jones |
Connecticut Sun |
F |
Qualifying offer extended |
|
|
Ji-Su Park |
Las Vegas Aces |
C |
Qualifying offer extended |
|
|
Nayo Raincock-Ekunwe |
New York Liberty |
F/C |
Qualifying offer extended |
|
|
Victoria Vivians |
Indiana Fever |
G |
Qualifying offer extended |
CBS Sports will continue updating this story.