In the final hour before the WNBA CBA expired Friday night, the league proposed a free agent moratorium. But unless the WNBPA accepts the moratorium, WNBA teams — since the league is in the labor phase of “status quo” — would be able to make qualifying free agent offers from Jan. 11-20 based on the rules of the previous CBA.
The ambiguity should lead to a certain kind of gamesmanship. If a team disseminates qualifying offers, the players have been advised by their agents and their union not to accept them because the money would be based on 2025 rules — where the max salary was only $250,000 and the average salary was just $102,249. Sources also said teams’ front offices are fully aware the players would almost certainly ignore these offers in order to sign richer deals once the CBA is settled (the league is now offering a $1.3M max salary in 2026 and a $530,000 average salary).
Teams are expected to wait for the union’s moratorium answer — or at least until closer to Jan. 20 — before actually issuing the free agent qualifying offers. As of Sunday, there was no official union response to the league’s moratorium proposal.