WNBA and players’ union formalize ‘free agency’ freeze
At an impasse for now, WNBA and its players agree at least on the “break”. The Women’s League said so establishing a moratoriumway of freezing the “business” part while “free agency” begins in January in the Women’s Major League…
This decision is a logical continuation stalled negotiations between the VNBA and the players’ union, which requires a better distribution of revenue to follow the evolution of franchise valuations.
This moratorium was expected, while the two camps are very far apart in their positions for now. It puts a pause on “free agency” and specifically prevents teams from making “qualifying offers” to eligible players, or even designating players who can benefit from so-called “supermax” contracts.
The maximum deadline set for Friday to agree on a new collective agreement, since it did not result in an agreement, these offers could be made on the basis of the old collective agreement, without a moratorium. However, it was expected that even without this “truce” period, no player would sign a new contract of this kind, much less financially favorable compared to what would be proposed in the new collective agreement.
This classic “free agency” period should be much longer than usual this time around. The WNBA did not convince players with its first offer, while ESPN mentioned a salary increase from $1.5 million to $5 million. The AP, for its part, assures that the players’ union hopes for 30 percent of the league’s gross revenue and a salary cap of $10.5 million. The specter of the “lockout” is therefore more and more palpable.
2026-01-13 10:58:00
