Trio of WNBA stars get new franchise tags worth up to $1.4 million

Key Points:

• New York's Sabrina Ionescu, Minnesota's Napheesa Collier, and Los Angeles' Kelsey Plum received franchise tags from their WNBA teams, guaranteeing a one-year supermax salary potentially worth $1.4 million, significantly higher than previous top salaries.
• The "core" designation grants teams exclusive negotiating rights and allows players to negotiate different contract terms to help teams manage the new salary cap, expected to be around $7 million.
• Other players given the "core" designation include Indiana's Kelsey Mitchell, Dallas' Arike Ogunbowale, Atlanta's Allisha Gray, Chicago's Ariel Atkins, and Seattle's Ezi Magbegor, with expansion teams Portland and Toronto also extending franchise tag offers.
• Starting in 2027, the core designation can only be applied twice per player and only if they have less than seven years of league experience, limiting its future use.
• The WNBA free agency period was delayed due to extended collective bargaining agreement negotiations, with training camp set to begin April 19 and preseason games starting April 25; over 80% of veteran players are free agents this year due to expiring contracts aligned with the new CBA.