It’s once again rebuild season for NJ/NY Gotham FC.

The club announced Friday that players Domi Richardson, Nicole Baxter, Jennifer Cudjoe and Kumi Yokoyama will not return in 2023 after not being extended contracts. The club’s announcement came after the individual players had begun to trickle out statements, thanking fans and the club for their time there.

Baxter, who has been part of the club since 2019 under its previous name, Sky Blue FC, was the first to do so, writing Wednesday that while she’s “disappointed to not be offered a new contract at Gotham, I will always have a very special type of love for the people and fans of this club.”

Thank you @GothamFC 💙 pic.twitter.com/P0q4PC4Cg2

— Nicole Baxter (@NicoleBaxter512) October 12, 2022

“Domi, Nicole, Jennifer and Kumi are fan favorites and outstanding players who made significant contributions to Gotham FC on the pitch and in our community,” Gotham general manager Yael Averbuch said in a statement. “All of us at Gotham FC are deeply appreciative to them for everything they did for our club.”

She later added further comment to Jenna Tonelli, writing that she feels “the same way” about the players as the fans do.

“You never want to say goodbye to people and players of this quality,” said Averbuch. “But my expectation is that in the coming weeks and months, our supporters will see the contracts and moves we are working on, both with our roster and the coaching staff, and will feel excited about the future of Gotham FC.”

The departures come after Gotham finished at the bottom of the table during the regular season, winning just four games and compiling just 13 points across 22 matches.

Gotham parted ways with head coach Scott Parkinson in August, replacing him with interim head coach Hue Menzies. The club did not win a game after Parkinson’s departure but did manage a 3-3 draw against the Portland Thorns in the season finale on Oct. 1.

Gotham FC made key acquisitions last offseason in Ali Krieger and Ashlyn Harris as part of an attempted rebuild. The couple cited wanting to live in a more progressive place as a reason for the move — but also their desire to win championships.

“They are in the process of building something special, and in doing so, it’s funding, investment, it’s making your players feel wanted, needed, special, all the things that they deserve,” Harris told Just Women’s Sports last December.

Despite the on-field performance, those sentiments still ring true. Carli Lloyd, Kevin Durant, Sue Bird and Eli Manning have all joined the club’s ownership group, and Averbuch is committed to creating a winning team.

But despite the commitment from big-name stars on and off the pitch, the results haven’t lived up to expectations

In an article in The Athletic in early September, Averbuch cited the team’s age and the need to strike a balance between building for the future and utilizing veteran experience.

“It has to do with balancing players to bring out one another’s best characteristics, and looking at partnerships,” Averbuch said. “And not just partnerships between two players, but among players who will be on the same side of the field or in different (areas), working as the defense into the midfield or, the midfield into the forward line.

“Nothing is ever as simple as it looks on the outside,” Averbuch continued, speaking of the GM role. “I knew that going in. But really, it strikes me all the time how complex a culture of an organization or a club really is.”

The Connecticut Sun is still on the chopping block, with reports surfacing Tuesday that the WNBA made a $250 million offer to buy the team in order to control its final landing place.

The Mohegan Tribe — the Sun's current owners — are reportedly still seeking clarity on the league's preferred relocation destination, after two prospective outside bids stalled in front of the Board of Governors.

Multiple offers remain on the table, including two $325 million bids from groups in Boston and nearby Hartford, Connecticut — as well as a plan to raise capital via minority investments rather than a full sale.

Recent reports point to the league's desire to control the Sun's fate while preserving certain markets for expansion, with the Mohegan Tribe under pressure to bend to the WNBA's interests.

The WNBA offer to buy the Connecticut Sun outright is reportedly part of a larger plan to flip the team to a different prospective ownership group without an additional relocation fee — and rumors say Houston is in the lead.

The Mohegan Tribe already turned down a low-ball bid out of Cleveland, with WNBA later awarding the Northeast Ohio city an expansion team for a $250 million fee.

NBA co-ownership was a clear priority during the league's most recent expansion, with officials now looking to force that strategy onto the Sun's future.

While the No. 1 Minnesota Lynx watch from above, the race for the No. 2 postseason seed is taking center stage, with teams like the No. 4 Phoenix Mercury eyeing 2025 WNBA Playoffs spots as the league nears the regular-season home stretch.

Big Tuesday wins helped boost the No. 2 New York Liberty and No. 5 Las Vegas Aces up the WNBA standings, while the Mercury refused to lose pace with a 98-91 victory over the No. 7 Golden State Valkyries.

"We're just continuing to try to build," Phoenix head coach Nate Tibbetts told reporters afterwards. "We're on the right step, but there's still work to be done."

Multiple talent-stacked teams are continuing to sharpen their form with the 2025 Playoffs looming, with only a half-game currently separating the New York Liberty, Atlanta Dream, Phoenix Mercury, and Las Vegas Aces on the WNBA table.

The Mercury have benefitted a healthy Big Three — Alyssa Thomas, Satou Sabally, and Kahleah Copper — with Copper leading Phoenix's five double-digit scorers by registering 25 points in Tuesday’s win.

"Our support staff has been great and our culture and my teammates have been great in helping me navigate through [early-season injuries] and just being able to get back out there," Copper said this week.

How to watch the Phoenix Mercury this week

The No. 4 Phoenix Mercury will have their work cut out for them on Thursday, when they'll visit Las Vegas to tip off against the surging No. 5 Aces and their eight-game winning streak at 10 PM ET.

Live coverage of the clash will air on Prime.

The No. 9 Sparks haven't given up the fight, with LA sitting just outside the 2025 WNBA playoff picture ahead of Wednesday night's clash with a No. 11 Dallas Wings side facing postseason elimination.

The Sparks have had an up-and-down season, arriving at a 16-18 record with six wins in their last 10 games.

"We control our destiny, so what do we do with it?" LA head coach Lynne Roberts said on Tuesday. "And I love that we're in that spot, but we'll see how competitive we are."

"Obviously we feel like there's some games that we should have and could have won at the beginning of the season early on, but [you] can't change the past," echoed Sparks forward Dearica Hamby. "We have good momentum right now still. We're still in good position to make the playoffs, so just take it a game at a time."

Meanwhile, Dallas will try to stave off joining the last-place Connecticut Sun in playoff elimination, though their draft lottery odds rise with every loss.

The Wings will be even more shorthanded on Wednesday after losing Li Yueru to a season-ending ACL sprain on Friday, with the center now joining star guard Arike Ogunbowale, who is suffering from knee tendinitis, on the sideline.

How to watch the Dallas Wings vs. LA Sparks on Wednesday

The No. 9 Sparks will host the No. 11 Wings at 10 PM ET on Wednesday, with live coverage airing on WNBA League Pass.

The No. 6 Indiana Fever are officially down another guard due to injury, with the team confirming Tuesday that Sophie Cunningham suffered a season-ending right MCL tear during the squad's Sunday matchup against the No. 13 Connecticut Sun.

"If you're going to hurt your knee, that is the best possible case," Cunningham explained on her podcast on Tuesday. "A couple more inches to the left, [I] would've torn a whole bunch more s—t. I'm very thankful for where I am at, so it's all good."

Cunningham posted an average of 8.6 points, 3.5 rebounds, and 1.2 assists per game while shooting 46.9% from the field on the season for Indiana.

In response to losing the seven-season WNBA standout, Indiana signed veteran guard Shey Peddy to a seven-day hardship contract on Tuesday, one day after releasing previous hardship addition Kyra Lambert.

Cunningham became the third Fever guard sidelined with a season-ending injury in less than two weeks, after Indiana lost both Sydney Colson and Aari McDonald to an ACL tear and broken foot, respectively, in the same game on August 7th.

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The trio join superstar guard Caitlin Clark on the Fever's injured list, after the WNBA sophomore's lingering right groin issue has seen her on the bench since before the 2025 All-Star break.

That said, Clark has reportedly been participating in practice this week, ramping up her game fitness as she eyes a return to the 2025 WNBA court.