Breanna Stewart, Liberty Agree to New Contract After 2024 WNBA Finals Win

Not that there was ever any real doubt, but Breanna Stewart is returning to the New York Liberty for the 2025 WNBA season.

The Liberty announced on Saturday that Stewart has signed a new contract to return to the reigning WNBA champs.

Liberty general manager Jonathan Kolb issued a statement about Stewart returning to New York for another season.

Per Madeline Kenney of the New York Post, Stewart's one-year deal will pay her a guaranteed salary of $208,400. This figure comes in just under the WNBA max salary for 2025 at $214,466.

This marks the fourth consecutive year that Stewart has signed a one-year contract. She began going on a year-to-year basis in 2022, her final season with the Seattle Storm.

Stewart said before Game 3 of the WNBA Finals last season that she wanted to maintain flexibility, particularly with the uncertainty about the collective bargaining agreement:

"I am under a one-year, and I’m going to sign another one-year. Just so I can continue to have that kind of flexibility going forward. It’s kind of hard to tell, because you don’t know obviously if we opt in or opt out, but with the potential from the new TV deal—how does everything play into effect. How long are things going to be lasting? But I don’t mind the one-years. I’m going to burn my core."

The WNBPA announced on Oct. 21 that it would opt out of the current CBA, which will expire on Oct. 31, 2025. The league's financial future is going to change significantly thanks to its 11-year, $2.2 billion television rights deal that begins with the 2026 season.

Stewart's move to the Liberty as a free agent in February 2023 shifted the balance of power in the WNBA. New York won a franchise-record 32 games and lost in the Finals in her first season after finishing under .500 in each of the previous five years.

The Liberty once again won 32 games last season and got over the hump in the playoffs, defeating the Minnesota Lynx in five games for their first championship.

Stewart won her second WNBA MVP award in her first year in New York. She finished third in MVP voting last season, averaging 20.4 points and 8.5 rebounds per game in 38 starts.

New York will begin its title defense against the Las Vegas Aces at Barclays Center on May 17.