PHOENIX (AP) — The WNBA and its players’ union agreed to start free agency on Monday, the league announced Sunday.
Teams will have two days to send qualifying offers to players who they have reserved rights for. Teams will also have a chance to offer a franchise tag to one player who is eligible to be cored.
Then, starting Wednesday, teams can begin meeting with unrestricted free agents, with the ability to offer them contracts starting Saturday.
More than 80% of the league’s players are free agents this year, as players had signed deals that expired at the end of last season.
There are only two veteran players who aren’t under rookie contracts that are signed for this season — Seattle's Lexie Brown and Phoenix's Kalani Brown.
Usually teams have a few weeks to court free agents to join their franchise. There’s a chance that many players may just re-sign with their current teams for a year and revisit free agency after the season.
Players could also go after the money and accept a bigger contract from a team they might not know as much about.
The college draft is scheduled for April 13 in New York.
The WNBA and its players’ union agreed on a new collective bargaining agreement last month. The new seven-year CBA, which begins this season and runs through 2032, represents a transformational landmark labor deal for the league. The deal was unanimously ratified by the WNBA Board of Governors and approved through a players’ vote.
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