The Golden State Valkyries extended qualifying offers to six players Tuesday, one day before the negotiation period begins for a historic WNBA free agency.
The Valkyries gave star guard Veronica Burton a restricted qualifying offer. As a restricted free agent, Burton is allowed to negotiate with other teams in addition to the Valkyries, who will ultimately wield the right of first refusal. This means any offer sheet she agrees to with another team can be matched by Golden State.
Burton, named the WNBA’s Most Improved Player last season, averaged 11.9 points and 6 assists per game across 44 starts with the Valkyries. She finished tied for ninth in MVP voting.
Among those who received a reserved one-year qualifying offer included forwards Cecilia Zandalasini, Janelle Salaün and Laeticia Amihere, center Iliana Rupert and guard Kaitlyn Chen. As reserved players, they may negotiate terms on a new deal outside of the minimum base salary afforded to them via the qualifying offer, but are not allowed to negotiate with other teams. The Valkyries maintain exclusive negotiating rights. Players without an existing contract who have three years of WNBA service time or less become eligible for a reserved qualifying offer.
Zandalasini and Salaün both averaged double figures in scoring last season.
The negotiation period for all free agents starts on Wednesday and runs through Friday, with Saturday being the first day players can officially sign a new contract. Under the league’s new CBA, the WNBA salary cap was increased from $1.5 million to $7 million for the 2026 season, freeing up significantly more money for an unprecedentedly large pool of free agents.