WNBA Rumors: Kahleah Copper, Sky Agree to 2-Year Contract Extension

The Chicago Sky announced Sunday they signed Kahleah Copper to an extension ahead of the 2024 WNBA offseason.

Annie Costabile of the Chicago Sun-Times reported Copper will earn $241,984 next year and $248,134 in 2025. The 2021 WNBA Finals MVP was due to be a free agent this winter.

The free-agent market is now shaping up to be pretty thin at the top.

Copper's new deal comes on the heels of the Seattle Storm re-signing Jewell Loyd and the New York Liberty doing the same with Betnijah Laney. Ariel Atkins committed her future to the Washington Mystics last month as well.

Breanna Stewart, Nneka Ogwumike, Jonquel Jones, DeWanna Bonner and Elena Delle Donne will all be out of contracts, but none of that group seems likely to leave their current teams. That would leave Skylar Diggins-Smith and Brittney Griner headlining the class.

For the Sky, holding onto Copper was imperative as the franchise continues to building on the impact of its 2021 title.

The 29-year-old is now the face of the organization and continues to play at a high level. She was averaging 18.7 points and 4.4 rebounds and shooting 40.4 percent from beyond the arc entering Sunday's game against the Connecticut Sun.

Sky fans have watched a number of key players from the team's championship run move on.

The axis of Candace Parker, Courtney Vandersloot and Allie Quigley was never going to be the foundation of a dynastic run, not when all three were into their mid-30s when Parker arrived in 2021. Chicago had a two- or three-year window at most with that trio and made the most of it.

Still, the Sky may not have expected all three to leave within the same offseason, which inevitably threw the team into a state of mild disarray. They couldn't have foreseen head coach/general manager James Wade leaving in the middle of the year to take an NBA assistant coaching job, either.

However, the arrival of NBA legend Dwyane Wade as a part-owner of the organization is a source of optimism for the future. Now, Chicago will have the continued presence of Copper to both excite fans and perhaps draw another star or two to the Windy City.