WNBA's Key Dates for Draft, Free Agency, More for 2026 Offseason Schedule Revealed

The WNBA has set some key free agency dates for an abbreviated offseason following the ratification of a new collective bargaining agreement between the league and players.

Free agency will start this week on Monday and Tuesday, when qualifying offers and core designations can be offered to players, the WNBA announced Sunday.

The league's official negotiation period opens from Wednesday to Friday, followed by the Saturday start for signings.

The 2026 WNBA draft is set to take place on Monday, April 13, followed by the start of the regular season on Friday, May 8.

The offseason already kicked off last Friday with the WNBA expansion draft, during which the Portland Fire and Toronto Tempo had the chance to select up to 12 players left unprotected by each active franchise.

The Fire started out the draft by selecting unrestricted free agent Bridget Carleton, who spent the last six and a half seasons with the Minnesota Lynx. The Tempo also brought in veteran players, including the Connecticut Sun's Marina Mabrey and New York Liberty's Nyara Sabally.

Now it will be the rest of the league's turn to start building their rosters.

Many of the league's top players have already verbally committed to re-signing with their previous teams. A'ja Wilson told reporters Friday that she's "not leaving the Las Vegas Aces. Breanna Stewart and Sabrina Ionescu have both said they plan to re-sign with the New York Liberty.

Other stars hitting free agency include the Minnesota Lynx's Napheesa Collier, Atlanta Dream's Allisha Gray, Indiana Fever's Kelsey Mitchell, Phoenix Mercury's Alyssa Thomas and Seattle Storm's Nneka Ogwumike.

Some of these players could receive core designations, while other free agents could stay put on one-year deals. ESPN's Alexa Philippou recently reported that "some industry insiders predict there will be less movement than initially expected and that players will sign one-year deals to wait to see how the new landscape sorts itself out."

The new CBA resulted in pay bumps throughout the WNBA, from increases for top draft picks to a supermax salary of $1.4 million. Teams will be tasked with building these rosters under a salary cap that jumped from $1.5 million last season to $7 million in 2026.