Jones Ionescu Stewart IMAGN 03242026
Why the Liberty might not be able to keep Breanna Stewart and Sabrina Ionescu together originally appeared on The Sporting News. Add The Sporting News as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
The WNBA’s new collective bargaining agreement has brought historic pay increases to the league’s players.
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It also might lead to salary cap chaos for its teams, particularly the star-laden New York Liberty.
The Liberty, WNBA champions in 2024, face an unenviable task of keeping its “Big Three” — Sabrina Ionescu, Jonquel Jones and Breanna Stewart — together in 2026 and beyond.
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All three players — two of whom are former MVPs — are free agents. And all three are eligible to sign supermax contracts starting at $1.4 million.
The new salary cap in the WNBA is set at around $7 million. Bringing all three of Ionescu, Jones and Stewart back on supermaxes would chew up more than half of New York’s cap space.
The New York Post’s Madeline Kenney reports that Liberty general manager Jonathan Kolb could like to sign the star trio to long-term contracts, thus mitigating the short-term cap hit and allowing New York to retain other key contributors like Leonie Fiebich and Nyara Sabally.
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However, it is unlikely that someone like Stewart — who fought particularly hard in CBA talks for higher salaries as a WNBPA executive committee member — would be interested in sacrificing millions just as historic cash flow enters the league.
It creates a fascinating scenario with the Liberty: will Kolb be able to move forward with all three players? Which one or two might he prioritize if talks become tense?
Only time will tell.
