2024 WNBA free agency tracker: Storm sign Nneka Ogwumike to form new Big Three in Seattle

Jack Maloney February 5, 2024

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2024 WNBA free agency tracker: Storm sign Nneka Ogwumike to form new Big Three in Seattle

The 2024 WNBA free agency period is now underway, which means the long offseason is just heating up. As of Feb. 1, teams can officially sign players to new contracts, and there’s been plenty of action across the league. Most recently, the Seattle Storm continued their impressive offseason by adding former MVP Nneka Ogwumike.

For much of the league’s history, free agency didn’t matter all that much. Key players rarely became free agents due to the length of contracts and the number of times a franchise could use the core designation. That all changed with the new collective bargaining agreement in 2020. Now, free agency is a key aspect of the calendar, just like any other league.

Already some major deals have been struck. Former MVP Jonquel Jones has agreed to re-sign with the New York Liberty, while reigning Most Improved Player Satou Sabally will be back with the Dallas Wings. Skylar Diggins-Smith decided to leave her previous team, the Phoenix Mercury, to sign a reported two-year deal with the Storm. In one of the most surprising moves, former MVP Tina Charles signed with the Atlanta Dream after sitting out of the 2023 season.

We’re still awaiting decisions from four other former MVPs: Breanna Stewart (2018, 2023), Elena Delle Donne (2015, 2019) and Candace Parker (2008, 2013). That’s in addition to seeing what the likes of Brittney Griner and DeWanna Bonner will do.

One way or another, the league is going to shift this winter. Ahead of all the action and intrigue, here’s everything you need to know:

When does free agency start?

Teams can start talking to free agents on Jan. 21, but nothing can officially be signed until Feb. 1. Those rules will always be skirted to some extent, but teams caught breaking them will be punished under the league’s tampering rules. The Seattle Storm were fined in 2022 for jumping the gun on Sue Bird’s re-signing.

How does WNBA free agency work?

WNBA free agency largely operates just like the NBA. There is a moratorium period where teams can speak to players but not offically sign anything, and free agents are grouped into different classifications that dictate how both they and teams can operate. The two main groups are unrestricted free agents, who can speak to and sign with any team they want, and restricted free agents, who can speak to and sign with any team they want, but can have that offer matched by their prior team.

The WNBA also has a reserved category, which is for players who hit free agency with fewer than three years of service. Often, these are veterans who entered the league later in their career, but they can also be younger players who, for whatever reason, were not on a typical rookie-scale contract. The prior team has exclusive negotiating rights with said players.

Furthermore, in rare instances players’ contracts can expire while they are suspended. When this happens, players are technically found to be “withholding service,” according to the CBA, and are listed as “suspended — contract expired.” In practice, these players are treated much like reserved players, though the prior team does not have to extend a qualifying offer.

Finally, there is the core designation, which is most analogous to the NFL’s franchise tag. If a team uses the core designation on a player, they gain exclusive negotiating rights with them, even if that player was set to be an unrestricted free agent. Teams must use this machination wisely, however, as each player is only allowed to be “cored” two times in their career as of 2024.

2024 WNBA free agents

Cored

Player	Prior team	New team	Position	Status
Jordin Canada	Los Angeles Sparks	Atlanta Dream	G	Signed-and-traded
Elena Delle Donne	Washington Mystics		F	Cored
Brionna Jones	Connecticut Sun	Connecticut Sun	C	Signed
Breanna Stewart	New York Liberty		F	Cored

Unrestricted

Player	Prior Team	New Team	Position	Status
Natalie Achonwa	Minnesota Lynx		C	Unsigned
Lindsay Allen	Minnesota Lynx	Chicago Sky	G	Signed
Rebecca Allen	Connecticut Sun	Phoenix Mercury	F	Signed-and-traded
Kristine Anigwe	Connecticut Sun		F/C	Unsigned
Rachel Banham	Minnesota Lynx	Connecticut Sun	G	Signed
Monique Billings	Atlanta Dream	Los Angeles Sparks	F	Signed
DeWanna Bonner	Connecticut Sun		F	Unsigned
Kalani Brown	Dallas Wings	Dallas Wings	C	Signed
Rae Burrell	Los Angeles Sparks	Los Angeles Sparks	G/F	Signed
Emma Cannon	Indiana Fever		F	Unsigned
Bridget Carleton	Minnesota Lynx	Minnesota Lynx	F	Signed
Chennedy Carter	Los Angeles Sparks		G	Unsigned
Kaila Charles	Seattle Storm		G/F	Unsigned
Tina Charles	N/A	Atlanta Dream	F/C	Signed
Layshia Clarendon	Los Angeles Sparks	Los Angeles Sparks	G	Signed
Natasha Cloud	Washington Mystics	Phoenix Mercury	G	Signed
Alaina Coates	Las Vegas Aces		C	Unsigned
Nia Coffey	Atlanta Dream	Atlanta Dream	F	Signed
Sydney Colson	Las Vegas Aces	Las Vegas Aces	G	Signed
Lauren Cox	Connecticut Sun		C	Unsigned
Lorela Cubaj	Atlanta Dream		F/C	Unsigned
Damiris Dantas	Minnesota Lynx	Indiana Fever	G/F	Signed
Diamond DeShields	Phoenix Mercury		G/F	Unsigned
Jasmine Dickey	Dallas Wings		G	Unsigned
Skylar Diggins-Smith	Phoenix Mercury	Seattle Storm	G	Signed
Liz Dixon	Phoenix Mercury		F	Unsigned
Ivana Dojkic	Seattle Storm	New York Liberty	G	Signed training camp contract
Stefanie Dolson	New York Liberty		F/C	Unsigned
Emily Engstler	Minnesota Lynx	Washington Mystics	F	Signed training camp contract
Cyesha Goree	Washington Mystics		F	Unsigned
Brittney Griner	Phoenix Mercury		C	Unsigned
Arella Guirantes	Seattle Storm		G	Unsigned
Megan Gustafson	Phoenix Mercury	Las Vegas Aces	F/C	Signed
Linnae Harper	Washington Mystics		G	Unsigned
Tiana Hawkins	Washington Mystics		C	Unsigned
Tiffany Hayes	Connecticut Sun	N/A	G	Retired
Destanni Henderson	Phoenix Mercury		G	Unsigned
Khaalia Hillsman	Chicago Sky		C	Unsigned
Ashley Joens	Phoenix Mercury		F	Unsigned
Jonquel Jones	New York Liberty	New York Liberty	F/C	Reportedly agreed to two-year deal
Jantel Lavender	Seattle Storm		F/C	Unsigned
Rui Machida	Washington Mystics		G	Unsigned
Abby Meyers	Washington Mystics		G	Unsigned
Taylor Mikesell	Atlanta Dream		G	Unsigned
Chiney Ogwumike	Los Angeles Sparks		F/C	Unsigned
Nneka Ogwumike	Los Angeles Sparks	Seattle Storm	F	Signed
Candace Parker	Las Vegas Aces		F	Unsigned
Shey Peddy	Phoenix Mercury		G	Unsigned
Theresa Plaisance	Seattle Storm		C	Unsigned
Aerial Powers	Minnesota Lynx	Atlanta Dream	G/F	Signed
Epiphanny Prince	New York Liberty		G	Unsigned
Danielle Robinson	Atlanta Dream		G	Unsigned
Karlie Samuelson	Los Angeles Sparks	Washington Mystics	G	Signed
Katie Lou Samuelson	Los Angeles Sparks	Indiana Fever	F	Reportedly agreed to deal
Jennie Simms	Phoenix Mercury		G	Unsigned
Odyssey Sims	Dallas Wings		G	Unsigned
Alanna Smith	Chicago Sky	Minnesota Lynx	F	Signed
Taylor Soule	Chicago Sky		F	Unsigned
Kiah Stokes	Las Vegas Aces	Las Vegas Aces	C	Signed
Jasmine Thomas	Los Angeles Sparks	N/A	G	Retired
Sam Thomas	Phoenix Mercury		G/F	Unsigned
Kristi Toliver	Washington Mystics	N/A	G	Retired
Kayana Traylor	Minnesota Lynx		G	Unsigned
Evina Westbrook	Los Angeles Sparks		G	Unsigned
Christyn Williams	Phoenix Mercury	Phoenix Mercury	G	Signed training camp contract
Courtney Williams	Chicago Sky	Minnesota Lynx	G	Signed
Gabby Williams	Seattle Storm		F	Unsigned
Madi Williams	Seattle Storm		G/F	Unsigned
Riquna Williams	Las Vegas Aces		G	Unsigned
Amanda Zahui B.	Los Angeles Sparks		C	Unsigned

Restricted

Player	Prior Team	Current Team	Position	Status
AD Durr	Atlanta Dream		G	Qualifying offer extended
Cayla George	Las Vegas Aces		C	Unsigned
Ruthy Hebard	Chicago Sky		F/C	Unsigned
Joyner Holmes	Seattle Storm	Seattle Storm	C	Signed training camp contract
Satou Sabally	Dallas Wings	Dallas Wings	F	Agreed to one-year deal
Yvonne Turner	Seattle Storm		G	Unsigned
Jocelyn Willoughby	New York Liberty		G/F	Unsigned

Reserved

Player	Prior Team	Current Team	Position	Status
Morgan Bertsch	Chicago Sky		F	Qualifying offer extended
Maya Caldwell	Indiana Fever	Indiana Fever	G	Signed training camp contract
Temi Fagbenle	Indiana Fever	Indiana Fever	C	Signed training camp contract
Rebekah Gardner	Chicago Sky		G	Qualifying offer extended
Bernadett Hatar	Connecticut Sun		C	Qualifying offer extended
Marine Johannes	New York Liberty		G	Qualifying offer extended
Li Meng	Washington Mystics		G	Qualifying offer extended
Nikolina Milic	Minnesota Lynx		F	Qualifying offer extended
Robyn Parks	Chicago Sky		F	Qualifying offer extended
Kianna Smith	Los Angeles Sparks		G	Qualifying offer extended
Sug Sutton	Phoenix Mercury	Phoenix Mercury	G	Signed training camp contract