Welcome to 46 days of WNBA offseason chaos. Between now and opening day of the WNBA’s 30th season May 8, two expansion teams need to build their rosters, more than 100 free agents — including former MVPs A’ja Wilson and Breanna Stewart — will decide where they’ll play this summer and the newest stars will be selected in the college draft.
After eight days of marathon negotiations, the WNBA and Women’s National Basketball Players Association agreed to a new collective bargaining agreement last week, giving way to what both sides have described as a “transformational” deal that will shape women’s basketball for generations to come.
Despite months of negotiations to reach this point — the previous CBA expired in October — commissioner Cathy Englebert told reporters that the delay would not affect the opening date the league announced in February. She also said that training camps are still set to begin April 19; preseason games will start April 25.
But that’s not all that has to happen before opening night. Before players report to camp, the WNBA has to complete one of the most monumental offseasons in league history, including a two-team expansion draft and massive free agency period.
Neither can be officially scheduled until the new CBA is ratified — which can take up to several weeks — but according to a memo sent to teams in late February, the expansion draft, free agency and the college draft will all take place between April 1-13 before training camps open. Here’s what to expect from the madness.
Expansion draft
The 13 previously existing teams will be allowed to protect a group of players — the expectation is that number will be five, sources told ESPN. The Tempo and Fire will then take turns selecting players who were left unprotected until they each get to 12.
According to this year’s schedule, teams will use April 1-5 to finalize player protections before the draft on April 6. A coin flip will determine which of the teams will select first, sources said. The team that does not pick first during the expansion draft will get the No. 6 pick in the college draft; the other will pick seventh, sources said.
One wrinkle of this year’s expansion draft that front offices are still figuring out is how they will have to navigate picking free agents. In 2024, Golden State was allowed to draft only one unrestricted free agent. But the majority of players are unrestricted free agents this offseason, which would limit the number of players available to be taken.
Free agency
Free agency is set to begin the day after the expansion draft, according to the schedule the league presented to teams. From April 7-8, teams can make qualifying offers to restricted, reserved or core-eligible players. Negotiations officially begin April 9, and players can formally sign deals on April 12. Usually, this process happens over a three-week period.
This is expected to be a historic free agency period, with more than 100 players being free agents. That includes everyone from former MVPs such as Wilson and Stewart to franchise cornerstones such as Allisha Gray and Kahleah Copper.
And there will be a lot for them on the table. Players will be paid more than ever, with the salary cap starting at $7 million (up from $1.5 million in 2025) and the supermax starting at $1.4 million ($249,244 in 2025), sources told ESPN’s Shams Charania.
The average salary will be around $600,000 ($120,000 in 2025), with the minimum salary surpassing $300,000 ($66,079 in 2025), sources told Charania.
Some front office executives and agents told ESPN that the shortened timeline could result in less player movement and more short-term deals, pushing the frenzy to next offseason. But others view the size in money available for players to push a healthy amount of movement.
College draft
The last step of the offseason before training camp is the WNBA draft, which will take place on April 13 in New York City. The date was set in November, but now it will be in the middle of free agency, meaning teams will be dissecting tape from this year’s NCAA tournament — the women’s national championship is April 5, the day before the expansion draft — while juggling conversations with their free agency targets and preparing for camps.
The draft will still have three rounds, but it grows to 45 total picks with the addition of Toronto and Portland. Under the new CBA, teams are required to have 12 players on the roster and can have two additional spots for development players who will not count against the salary cap. In the past, some teams would carry only 11 players to stay under the cap.
The Dallas Wings have the No. 1 pick for the second year in a row, with ESPN’s latest mock draft projecting them to select UConn’s Azzi Fudd.
Training camp
All of this means that many coaches won’t know who’s on their roster until a week before training camp — or less, with free agency closing on April 20.
As camps open April 19, players will have about a week before games start, and nearly two weeks after that before the season openers May 8. After a winter of inactivity, it will be a whirlwind six weeks for everyone involved in the WNBA.
