It’s been an unbelievably hectic start to WNBA free agency. Thanks to the groundbreaking new CBA signed in January, player movement is more fluid than ever before. Increased cap space, a reduction in the number of times a team can core a player, and improved max contracts give both teams and players greater flexibility in moving contracts and picks. 

Below, we break down the biggest deals of the offseason so far:

• Phoenix has a new Big Three: The Mercury traded all-star DeWanna Bonner to the Connecticut Sun for three first-round picks, which they then used to land Skylar Diggins-Smith in a subsequent deal with Dallas. Diggins-Smith will team up with Diana Taurasi and a recently resigned Brittney Griner to make the Mercury immediate title contenders.

4x WNBA All-Star @SkyDigg4 is heading to the Mercury to join Diana Taurasi and Brittney Griner, per @RachGall

Career averages:
Skylar: 15.9 PPG | 4.9 APG

New Big 3 in Phoenix ???? pic.twitter.com/9EnaHYOq4K

— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) February 12, 2020

• Washington keeps two of three: the defending champions were able to resign both reigning league MVP Elena Delle Donne and reigning finals MVP Emma Meeseman, but all-star guard Kristi Toliver bolted west to return to LA, whom she played for from 2010-2016, winning a title in 2016.

• Sparks may be the new favorites: Tolliver will join former MVPs Candace Parker and Nneka Ogwumike, as well as all-star Chelsea Gray in headlining a loaded Sparks squad. Throw in Brittney Sykes (acquired from Atlanta in exchange for Kalani Brown) and the most disappointing team of 2019 now looks like the team to beat heading into 2020.

• Las Vegas rolls the dice: The Aces pulled off one of the splashiest signings of free agency when they inked two-time scoring champion Angel McCoughtry to a two-year deal. A lineup of McCoughtry, A’ja Wilson, Liz Cambage, Kelsey Plum and Kayla McBride is scary on paper, but McCoughtry’s health is a real concern: she missed the end of the 2018 season and all of the 2019 season with a torn ACL.

• Seattle resigns Stewart: The Storm re-signed 2018 MVP Breanna Stewart, who missed all of last season after rupturing her Achilles tendon while playing abroad. Stewart returned to the court with Team USA in an exhibition game against UConn last month, where she looked eager to reclaim her title as best player in the league.

Duh! https://t.co/ZYIGOLuDYa

— Breanna Stewart (@breannastewart) February 13, 2020

FULL 2020 FREE AGENCY TRACKER (BY TEAM):

Updated February 17th. UFA: unrestricted free agent; RFA: restricted free agent; CO: club option.

Atlanta Dream:

• Alex Bentley, UFA

• Kalani Brown (via trade with Sparks)

• Alaina Coates, UFA

• Glory Johnson (contract signed, previously with Wings)

• Sun Mengran, UFA

• Shekinna Stricklen (contract signed, previously with Sun)

Chicago Sky:

• Kayla Alexander, UFA

• Sydney Colson (contract signed, previously with Aces)

• Kahleah Copper, UFA

• Stefanie Dolson, UFA

• Jamierra Faulkner, UFA

• Allie Quigley, UFA

• Courtney Vandersloot, UFA

Connecticut Sun:

• Rachel Banham, RFA

• DeWanna Bonner (via sign and trade with Mercury)

• Natisha Hiedeman (contract signed)

• Bria Holmes (contract signed)

• Jonquel Jones, UFA

• Courtney Williams, UFA

Breaking: DeWanna Bonner has signed with the @ConnecticutSun. pic.twitter.com/raV9JQhoE4

— espnW (@espnW) February 11, 2020

Dallas Wings:

• Morgan Bertsch (contract signed)

• Kaela Davis, CO

• Allisha Gray, CO

• Megan Gustafson (contract signed)

• Isabelle Harrison (contract signed)

• Moriah Jefferson (contract signed)

• Brooke McCarty-Williams, UFA

• Imani McGee-Stafford (contract signed)

• Astou Ndour (via trade with Sky)

• Karlie Samuelson (contract signed, previously with Sparks)

Indiana Fever:

• Betnijah Laney, UFA

• Erica McCall, CO

• Tiffany Mitchell, UFA

Las Vegas Aces

• Liz Cambage, UFA

• Angel McCoughtry (contract signed, previously with Dream)

• Danielle Robinson (contract signed, previously with Lynx)

• Sugar Rodgers, UFA

• Carolyn Swords, UFA

• Tamera Young, UFA

???? @angel_35

♠️ #1 Overall Draft Pick (2009)
♠️ 5x WNBA All-Star
♠️ 5th All-time in PPG in WNBA History
♠️ 6x All-WNBA Selection
♠️ 7x WNBA All-Defensive Team Honoree pic.twitter.com/4AvDx6L89B

— Las Vegas Aces (@LVAces) February 11, 2020

Los Angeles Sparks

• Alana Beard, UFA

• Chelsea Gray, UFA

• Marie Gulich (via trade with Dream)

• Tierra Ruffin-Pratt (contract signed)

• Brittney Sykes (via trade with Dream)

• Kristi Toliver (contract signed, previously with Mystics)

Minnesota Lynx

• Seimone Augustus, UFA

• Temi Fagbenle, UFA

New York Liberty

• Tina Charles, UFA

• Layshia Clarendon (contract signed, previously with Sun)

• Reshanda Gray, UFA

• Marine Johannès, UFA

• Nayo Raincock-Ekunwe, RFA

• Kiah Stokes, UFA

• Tanisha Wright, UFA

Phoenix Mercury

• Essence Carson, UFA

• Skylar Diggins-Smith (via trade with Wings)

• Brittney Griner (contract signed)

• Bria Hartley (contract signed, previously with Liberty)

• Yvonne Turner, UFA

u2B50uFE0F4x WNBA All-Star
u2B50uFE0F3x All-WNBA
u2B50uFE0F2014 Most Improved Player
u2B50uFE0F2013 No. 3 Overall Pick

Coming to a Madhouse near you. pic.twitter.com/496A2eKL2B

— Phoenix Mercury (@PhoenixMercury) February 12, 2020

“,”resolvedBy”:”manual”,”resolved”:true}” data-block-type=”22″>

 

⭐️4x WNBA All-Star
⭐️3x All-WNBA
⭐️2014 Most Improved Player
⭐️2013 No. 3 Overall Pick

Coming to a Madhouse near you. pic.twitter.com/496A2eKL2B

— Phoenix Mercury (@PhoenixMercury) February 12, 2020

 

Seattle Storm

• Sue Bird, UFA

• Blake Dietrick, RFA

• Courtney Paris, UFA

• Breanna Stewart (contract signed)

• Morgan Tuck (via trade with Sun)

• Shavonte Zellous, UFA

Washington Mystics

• Elena Delle Donne (contract signed)

• Tianna Hawkins, UFA

• Emma Meesseman, UFA

• Kim Mestdagh, UFA

• Leilani Mitchell (contract signed, previously with Mercury)

• Aerial Powers, UFA

Hailey Van Lith is reportedly on her way to TCU, says Talia Goodman of The Next Hoops.

The former Louisville star joined LSU for the 2023-24 season, but a disappointing run in Baton Rouge saw her enter the transfer portal once again at the season’s end. Van Lith opted to use her fifth year of eligibility versus declaring for the WNBA draft.

Van Lith was admittedly less effective as a Tiger. Her field goal percentage decreased from .411 in 2022-23 with Louisville to .388 at LSU. She also went from averaging 19.7 points per game to just 11.6, due in part to a change of position from shooting guard to more of a point guard role.

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At an end-of-season banquet last week, LSU coach Kim Mulkey used her speech to wish Van Lith well, calling her "one of the hardest working players that I’ve ever coached."

"Her aspirations were to get drafted this year," Mulkey said, according to NOLA.com. "And she realized, 'I need another year, and I need to go back to a place where I can relax and get back to my normal position.'

"And what do you do? You hug her, and you wish her well."

The decision to commit to TCU may come as a surprise after Van Lith paid a visit to Mississippi State last weekend. The Horned Frogs finished out the 2023-24 season 21-12 overall, coming in 9th in the Big 12 and scoring an average of 69.5 points per game. The program also made headlines in January when they held mid-season open tryouts in response to an onslaught of sidelining injuries.

For the first time in the NWSL's 12-year history, fans can now buy their own goalkeeper jerseys. And while replica goalkeeper jerseys representing all 14 NWSL teams hit the market on Wednesday, some didn't stick around for long. 

Fans across women's soccer have long vocalized their discontent over the position's lack of availability on social media, often comparing the shortcoming to the widespread availability of men’s goalkeeper jerseys. And as the NWSL has grown, so has demand — and not just from those in the stands. 

"To have goalkeeper kits available for fans in the women’s game as they have been for so long in the men’s game is not only a long-awaited move in the right direction, it’s just good business," said Washington Spirit goalie Aubrey Kingsbury in an team press release. "I can’t wait to see fans representing me, Barnie [Barnhart], and Lyza in the stands at Audi!"

just went looking at #nwsl goalkeeper kit stock out of curiosity — Alyssa Naeher's $145 kit already sold out S-XL (league announced GK jerseys on sale 3 hours ago)https://t.co/8bYA7tlwcx

— Meg Linehan (@itsmeglinehan) April 17, 2024

Business does, in fact, appear to be booming. Alyssa Naeher’s Chicago Red Stars kit sold out less than three hours after the league's announcement. Jerseys for other keepers like DiDi Haračić, Abby Smith, Michelle Betos, Katelyn Rowland, and Bella Bixby aren’t currently available via the Official NWSL Shop, though blank goalkeeper jerseys can be customized through some individual team sites. Jerseys start at $110 each.

"This should be the benchmark," said Spirit Chief Operations Officer Theresa McDonnell. "The expectation is that all players’ jerseys are available to fans. Keepers are inspiring leaders and mentors with their own unique fan base who want to represent them... I can’t wait to see them all over the city."

Decorated gymnast Simone Biles took to the popular Call Her Daddy podcast this week to open up about her experience at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, revealing she thought she was going to be "banned from America" for her performance.

After Biles botched her vault routine due to a bout of the "twisties," she withdrew from the team final as well as the all-around final in order to focus on her mental health. She later reentered the competition to win bronze in the individual balance beam final.

In her interview with podcast host Alex Cooper, Biles admitted to feeling like she let the entire country down by failing her vault attempt.

"As soon as I landed I was like 'Oh, America hates me. The world is going to hate me. I can only see what they’re saying on Twitter right now,'" she recalled thinking. "I was like, ‘Holy s---, what are they gonna say about me?'"

"I thought I was going to be banned from America," she continued. "That’s what they tell you: Don’t come back if not gold. Gold or bust. Don’t come back."

Widely regarded as the greatest gymnast of all time, Biles has hinted at a desire to join her third Olympic team in Paris, though her participation won't be confirmed until after the gymnastics trials in late June. She holds over 30 medals from the Olympic Games and World Artistic Gymnastics Championships combined, and if qualified, would be a sure favorite heading into this summer’s games.

Caitlin Clark is reportedly close to cementing a hefty endorsement deal with Nike.

The Athletic was the first to break the news Wednesday evening, commenting that the deal would be worth "eight figures" and include her own signature shoe. On Thursday afternoon, the publication tweeted that the deal would top $20 million, according to lead NBA Insider Shams Charania. Both Under Armour and Adidas are said to have also made sizable offers to the college phenom and expected future WNBA star.

The new agreement comes after Clark's previous Nike partnership ended with the conclusion of the college basketball season. She was one of five NCAA athletes to sign an NIL deal with the brand back in October, 2022. 

Considering Clark's overwhelming popularity and Nike's deep pockets, the signing's purported value doesn't exactly come as a shock. New York Liberty guard Sabrina Ionescu’s deal with the brand is reportedly worth $24 million, while NBA rookie and No. 1 overall pick Victor Wembanyama’s deal is rumored to weigh in at $100 million. And in 2003, LeBron James famously earned $90 million off his own Nike deal. 

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Clark’s star power continues to skyrocket, with the NCAA championship averaging 18.9 million viewers and the 2024 WNBA Draft more than doubling its previous viewership record. Following the draft, Fanatics stated that Clark's Indiana Fever jersey — which sold out within an hour — was the top seller for any draft night pick in the company’s history, with droves of unlucky fans now being forced to wait until August to get their hands on some official No. 22 gear.

In Wednesday's Indiana Fever introductory press conference, the unfailingly cool, calm, and collected Clark said that turning pro hasn’t made a huge impact on how she’s conducting her deals.

"If I’m being completely honest, I feel like it doesn’t change a ton from how I lived my life over the course of the last year," she said. "Sponsorships stay the same. The people around me, agents and whatnot, have been able to help me and guide me through the course of the last year. I don’t know if I would be in this moment if it wasn’t for a lot of them."