Seventeen signings. Four trades. Three days. The first free agency period under the new CBA just compressed an entire offseason into a long weekend. Here is what the league looks like now.
Start with the number that matters most. $31.4 million in new salary was committed between April 8 and April 11. That is the combined value of every signing, core designation, and extension finalized during the negotiation window. Under the old CBA, the entire league payroll for all 12 teams was roughly $14 million. The WNBA just spent more on three days of free agency than it used to spend on a full season.
New York made the move that changes the title picture. Satou Sabally signed with the Liberty, joining a core that already includes Breanna Stewart and Sabrina Ionescu. Sabally averaged 18.6 points per game in Dallas with a 67.9 TPV in 2023 before injuries limited her 2025 season. If she is healthy, New York's starting five is the best in the league by a wide margin. Stewart at 68.2 TPV, Ionescu at 63.8, Sabally at her peak near 68, Jonquel Jones at 61.4. That is four players above 60 TPV on one roster. Nobody else has three.
The signing that makes the least noise and the most difference is Chelsea Gray returning to Las Vegas. Gray ran the Aces offense during their back-to-back championship seasons. She is 33 years old and coming off a down year, but her playmaking IQ is the single best fit for A'ja Wilson's post game in the entire league. Wilson at 88.5 TPV with a real point guard is a different player than Wilson without one. Vegas just solved its biggest problem without overpaying.
Connecticut made the boldest move nobody expected. Brittney Griner to the Sun fills the Alyssa Thomas-sized hole left when Thomas went to Phoenix. Griner is 35 and no longer the player she was three years ago, but she still blocks 2.6 shots per game and provides a paint deterrent that Connecticut desperately needed. The Sun's defensive identity just got its anchor back, even if the name on the jersey is different.
Chicago is the team that tells you the most about where the league is going. The Sky signed Skylar Diggins, brought back Azura Stevens and Elizabeth Williams, and traded for Jacy Sheldon from Dallas. That is not a contention roster. It is a development roster with veteran floor. Diggins gives the young players a real point guard to learn behind. Stevens and Williams keep the rotation competitive. Sheldon is the long-term bet. Chicago is doing what they said they would do when they traded Angel Reese: building for 2028, not 2026.
The cap math is where this gets real. Our cap tracker at arcwnba.com/analytics/cap-tracker shows the damage. New York is projecting north of 90 percent cap usage with only eight players signed. Indiana has 39 percent of cap committed to three players. Atlanta is at $5 million committed to four players on a $7 million cap. The teams that spent aggressively in the first 72 hours are now facing roster-building puzzles that did not exist under the old CBA.
The expansion teams moved differently. Toronto tagged Marina Mabrey at $1.4 million and signed Brittney Sykes as their first free agent. Portland tagged Bridget Carleton and is still shopping for a starting guard. Both teams have roughly $5 million in remaining cap space, which sounds like flexibility until you realize they each need to fill 10 roster spots. The math says their average remaining salary is around $500,000 per player. That is barely above mid-level.
The trade that tells you the most about market dynamics is the Diamond Miller deal. Minnesota sent Miller, who has been injured for most of two seasons, to Los Angeles for Rayah Marshall. The Lynx gave up a former lottery pick for a developmental frontcourt piece. That is either a tank move or a bet that Miller will never be the player her draft position suggested. Either way, it is a front office making a hard decision with real data.
The player who did not move matters as much as the ones who did. A'ja Wilson stayed in Vegas. Breanna Stewart stayed in New York. Napheesa Collier stayed in Minnesota. The three best players in the league did not change teams. That means the championship picture is the same as it was before free agency, with the key difference being the supporting casts that now surround those three.
The league has 15 teams for the first time. The cap is $7 million for the first time. The supermax is $1.4 million for the first time. Every front office in the WNBA is building a roster under a set of constraints that did not exist 12 months ago. The first 72 hours showed which front offices understood the new math and which ones are still figuring it out.
Indiana and New York look like the teams that understood it best. Both committed heavy cap to their top players and filled around them with targeted signings. Chicago and the expansion teams look like the teams that understood the timeline best, accepting short-term losses for long-term positioning. The teams in the middle, the ones who spent moderately and did not commit to contention or rebuilding, are the ones who will struggle most. The new CBA punishes indecision. The first 72 hours proved it.
[ End Report ]