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Sports Illustrated
Sports Illustrated
Blake Silverman

Explaining the WNBA Salary Cap & its Implications on Free Agency

A view of the ball during the second half of game five of the 2024 WNBA playoffs between the Minnesota Lynx and the Connecticut Sun. | Matt Krohn-Imagn Images

WNBA free agency kicks off in February when players can begin to sign new deals and subsequently change the league's landscape. In 2025, a new team enters the mix in the Golden State Valkyries, with the Toronto Tempo and unnamed Portland franchise to follow in 2026.

The WNBA's salary cap contains nuances and roster exceptions that are unique to the league and its current collective bargaining agreement (CBA) which has been in effect since 2020. Currently, the WNBA and the WNBPA, the league's players association, are negotiating a new CBA. The players opted out of the current CBA this past October, just before a deadline to do so on Nov. 1. The current CBA remains in effect through Oct. 31, 2025, which gives the league and the player's union until the end of the year to reach a new deal.

Players looking for a new contract for the 2025 season are likely to sign one-year deals so they retain the right to sign a new deal once a new CBA comes into play, which likely leads to higher salaries.

For now, though, the current rules, exceptions and maximum salaries remain in place through the 2025 season. Here's an overview of the WNBA's salary cap and how it impacts free agency:

What is the WNBA's Salary Cap?

The WNBA's salary cap is the maximum amount of salary a team can have of all players combined. Under the current CBA, the salary cap amount increases by 3% every year, so the specific amount is fluid based on the season.

For 2025, the WNBA's salary cap amount is $1,507,100 and the minimum team salary is $1,261,440, according to Her Hoop Stats. If a team finishes the season below the minimum salary, the team must make payments to all players currently on the team.

To make up a WNBA roster, teams can carry a maximum of 12 players and a minimum of 11 throughout the season. If a team doesn't meet the minimum roster size, they must sign another player within 72 hours.

What About Individual Player's Salaries?

The WNBA has both minimum and maximum player salaries, which both contain two different levels based on the years of service a player has under their belt. Players are granted a year of service each season they are on an active roster for at least one day during the regular season, excluding players on seven-day or replacement contracts according to Her Hoop Stats.

The maximum and minimum player salaries both increase each year, similar to the full team salary cap amount. For the 2025 season, the minimum player salary is $66,079 for players with two or fewer years of service and $78,831 for players with three or more years of service.

For maximum contracts, there is both a regular and "supermax" level. Players can become eligible for a supermax deal through a number of avenues which mostly incentivize staying with their previous team. Players who sign an extension to their rookie contract are eligible for a supermax. Free agents with five or more years of service who sign with their previous team are eligible as well.

In 2025, the regular maximum player salary is $214,466 and the supermax salary is $249,244.

Players who are drafted this year or others who have not previously signed a contract to play in the WNBA sign rookie scale contracts. Player salaries during rookie scale deals depend on the pick number or round the player was drafted in, or if they went undrafted.

How Does the WNBA's Salary Cap Impact Free Agency?

Although WNBA free agency officially kicks off on Feb. 1, the ball gets rolling a bit earlier.

Contract negotiations can begin on Jan. 15 but contracts can not be signed until the free agency period officially kicks off in February. Before the contract negotiation window, players can accept qualifying offers which makes them a restricted free agent once the free agency window opens.

A qualifying offer can be extended to a player by their previous team that applies restrictions to the player during free agency. A restricted free agent can negotiate with any team in the league, but their previous team will have the opportunity to match a contract the player agrees to with another team. If the previous team decides to match a contract, then the restricted free agent is retained by the matching team.

Unrestricted free agents are free to negotiate and sign with any team in the league, while no team has that player's rights.

The WNBA does have a couple unique designations that come into play during free agency and into the season. The first is the ability to designate one player as a "core player" which gives a cored player a one-year guaranteed deal with a salary equal to the current supermax. Cored players then can not sign a contract directly with another team, however they can be traded should the team choose. Players can now only play under the core designation for two seasons throughout the careers.

The other designation are "reserved" contracts. A player can become "reserved" if they have three or fewer years of service and are on an expiring contract. The offer is for one year at the minimum base salary level which applies to the specific player.

Although the current iteration of the WNBA's CBA won't be in effect for much longer, it will impact how this offseason shakes out, especially with a brand new team in play. Her Hoop Stats is a great resource to understand the league's current CBA, salary cap and to find specific salary information for your favorite teams and players before free agency officially begins in February.


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This article was originally published on www.si.com as Explaining the WNBA Salary Cap & its Implications on Free Agency.

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