News of 2021 MVP Jonquel Jones being traded from the Connecticut Sun to the New York Liberty rocked the WNBA this week, not only because she’s a big-name talent but also because of the salary cap implications.

What will the addition of Jones mean for the Liberty — and their rumored pursuit of several top free agents, including Breanna Stewart and Courtney Vandersloot?

Jones’ estimated salary for the 2023 season is $211,150. That’s huge for the Liberty because, with the 2023 salary cap rising to $1,420,500, New York still has wiggle room. They can build around Jones and star point guard Sabrina Ionescu (who will make $86,701 in 2023) and still land at least one big-time free agent.

While Stewart is the name who instantly comes to mind, as she met with the Liberty in the 2022 offseason before re-signing with the Storm, Vandersloot and the team have expressed mutual interest, The Next’s Howard Megdal reported Tuesday. And with a bit of salary cap creativity, they could bring in both.

Free agents can’t begin negotiations until Jan. 21, and they can’t sign contracts until February 1. But here’s what WNBA fans need to know about player salaries and revenue sharing before free agency begins in earnest.

Player salaries

When a team adds up the annual salaries of all the players on its roster, that total can’t exceed the salary cap, which for 2023 is $1,420,500. That represents a 3% increase from last year, when the salary cap was $1,379,200.

Hardship exceptions exist, if rostered players will miss significant time due to injuries, illnesses or other reasons. Outside of those exceptions, though, the salary cap is nonnegotiable.

Teams also must meet a minimum total salary of $1,188,990. If a team does not reach the minimum, that team must make extra payouts to its players at the end of the season, with the WNBA Players Association deciding on the distribution of the money.

Each team can have up to 12 players on its roster at a time, meaning the total salary (up to $1,420,500) must be divided among those 12 players. Contracts can vary, with the highest possible salary in 2023 sitting at $234,936. Rookie contracts are valued between $69,770 and $86,701 depending on where the player was selected in the draft. Those numbers, like the salary cap and salary minimum, increase every season.

Revenue sharing

In 2020, the league and the players signed a collective bargaining agreement that allows players to make money on top of their salaries by taking home a share of the league revenue. Essentially, as the league increases in value, the players make more money.

The NBA has a similar structure. But the WNBAs’s version of revenue sharing has a major difference, one Las Vegas Aces star Kelsey Plum recently called out on “The Residency” podcast.

In the WNBA, the players receive 50% of the the league’s incremental revenue. In the NBA, players receive 50% of all revenue. That means WNBA players share in only the revenue earned above the league’s revenue target for that season. The revenue target goes up by 20% each season, but the actual numbers are unknown.

So the league needs to exceed its revenue goal for a season in order for players to reap the rewards.

NWSL veteran Sofia Huerta is expanding her investment portfolio, with the Seattle Reign defender joining the ownership group of incoming USL Super League side Athletic Club Boise this week.

"I wasn't sure something like this would ever happen in Boise — so when the opportunity came, it was an easy decision," the Idaho product said in Tuesday's USL press release. "This community is how I got where I am today."

"Soccer has given me so much, and this club is building something that will give those opportunities to others," the 32-year-old continued. "The foundation Athletic Club Boise is laying — with the men's team in 2026 and the women's Gainbridge Super League team in 2027 — makes me proud to invest in the future of soccer here at home."

"Sofia represents exactly what we want this club to be — talented, ambitious, and deeply connected to the Northwest," added the incoming club's fellow co-owner Kasey Keller.

Huerta is now the first NWSL player to directly invest in the growing USL Super League, which serves as a top-flight US pro league alongside the NWSL.

That said, some of Huerta's Reign teammates have already crossed league lines, with Lauren Barnes, Jess Fishlock, and Olivia Van der Jagt buying into the semi-pro USL W League's Seattle-based team, Salmon Bay FC, last year.

Notre Dame basketball star Hannah Hidalgo took the mic this week, telling reporters at Tuesday's ACC Media Day that she's eager to erase the memory of last season's March Madness crash-out.

"Knowing how much talent we had last year and underachieving like we did was something that was heartbreaking," the junior guard said, explaining that the one-time No. 1 Fighting Irish lost focus ahead of their Sweet 16 tournament exit.

Hidalgo, whose 23.8 points per game made her the fifth most prolific scorer in the NCAA last season, also vowed to step up as a leader this year in light of Notre Dame losing standouts Sonia Citron and Maddy Westbeld to the WNBA and fellow star guard Olivia Miles in a transfer to TCU.

"I know how to get the best out of my teammates, I know the steps that I need to take and the things that I need to do," said Hidalgo, dismissing questions about her rumored rift with Miles. "One of the most important things is building that relationship and that connection with my teammates off the court. It's bigger than basketball."

"I know the weight of [the spotlight] is heavy," Notre Dame head coach Niele Ivey said of Hidalgo's role. "But I feel like she has done a great job of surrounding herself with the right network."

OL Lyonnes scored some UEFA Champions League revenge on Tuesday, upending reigning UWCL champs Arsenal 2-1 in the powerhouse pair's 2025/26 league phase opener in London.

In a rematch of last season's Champions League semifinal, Haiti international Melchie Dumornay sealed the OL Lyonnes result with a first-half brace for the French titans, quickly countering Arsenal forward Alessia Russo's seventh-minute strike.

"Errors happen from time to time, but if they happen too often, of course, there's something there," noted Arsenal head coach Renée Slegers, referencing the defensive mistakes that led to both OL Lyonnes goals. "Sometimes it's intangible or hard to put your finger on because it's a mixture of things."

"We won't get too high [or] too low in this situation," the Gunners manager continued, adding "the team went through hard times last year as well, and then we ended the season on a high with an amazing achievement in the Champions League."

OL Lyonnes weren't the only opening-day league phase victors, as Juventus took down Benfica 2-1 while 2024/25 runners-up Barcelona demolished Bundesliga side Bayern Munich 7-1 behind a pair of braces from attackers Ewa Pajor and Clàudia Pina.

Unlike previous iterations, the 2025/26 Champions League format does not include first-round rematches, with each team facing six different opponents before advancing to the knockouts.

How to watch 2025/26 Champions League games

UWCL league phase opening matches conclude with five games on Wednesday, with WSL winners Chelsea FC kicking off the action against Dutch side FC Twente at 12:45 PM ET.

All 2025/26 Champions League matches will air live on Paramount+.

Minnesota Lynx star Napheesa Collier was back on stage this week, opening up about her viral exit interview blasting WNBA leadership to former US Vice President Kamala Harris at the "A Day of Unreasonable Conversation" summit in LA on Monday.

"For so long, we tried to have these conversations and move the needle," she said. "And I saw nothing was changing."

"I think I just got to the point where I was fed up [with WNBA leadership]," Collier told Harris. "Whether I was going to get annihilated for this, or people were gonna support me, I felt like what I was doing was right."

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Collier also doubled down on her position, publicly cancelling a meeting with Cathy Engelbert after the WNBA commissioner denied Collier's account of a past conversation regarding Caitlin Clark and rookie compensation.

"For [Engelbert] to start her speech saying she has the utmost respect for me and for the players, and then to turn around and call me a liar three minutes later... I think it just speaks to that lack of accountability and so I really have nothing further to say [to her]," Collier told Axios on Monday, confirming the meeting's cancellation.

While both Engelbert and NBA commissioner Adam Silver have committed to repairing relationships between players and league leadership, Collier's recent outspokenness shows just how much ground there is to cover.