The WNBA’s new collective bargaining agreement has brought historic pay increases to the league’s players.
It also might lead to salary cap chaos for its teams, particularly the star-laden New York Liberty.
The Liberty, WNBA champions in 2024, face an unenviable task of keeping its “Big Three” — Sabrina Ionescu, Jonquel Jones and Breanna Stewart — together in 2026 and beyond.
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All three players — two of whom are former MVPs — are free agents. And all three are eligible to sign supermax contracts starting at $1.4 million.
The new salary cap in the WNBA is set at around $7 million. Bringing all three of Ionescu, Jones and Stewart back on supermaxes would chew up more than half of New York’s cap space.
The pathway to re-sign Breanna Stewart, Sabrina Ionescu and Jonquel Jones is challenging but not impossible.
A look into some of the numbers thanks to the new CBA: https://t.co/xxwoeqetIf
— Madeline Kenney (@madkenney) March 24, 2026
The New York Post’s Madeline Kenney reports that Liberty general manager Jonathan Kolb could like to sign the star trio to long-term contracts, thus mitigating the short-term cap hit and allowing New York to retain other key contributors like Leonie Fiebich and Nyara Sabally.
However, it is unlikely that someone like Stewart — who fought particularly hard in CBA talks for higher salaries as a WNBPA executive committee member — would be interested in sacrificing millions just as historic cash flow enters the league.
It creates a fascinating scenario with the Liberty: will Kolb be able to move forward with all three players? Which one or two might he prioritize if talks become tense?
Only time will tell.
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