Alexa Philippou, writing for ESPN;
Ten of 15 WNBA teams have extended core qualifying offers to players since free agency started Monday.
Players who have been “cored” — akin to being given the NFL’s franchise tag — include Sabrina Ionescu, by the New York Liberty; Napheesa Collier (Minnesota Lynx); Kelsey Mitchell (Indiana Fever); Kelsey Plum, (Los Angeles Sparks); and Arike Ogunbowale (Dallas Wings).
The core designation gives a team exclusive negotiating rights to a player and comes with a baseline contract of a fully guaranteed one-year deal worth the supermax ($1.4 million in 2026), though the player can negotiate different terms.
Here’s the full list of cored players, via @alexaphilippou
- Atlanta: Allisha Gray
- Chicago: Ariel Atkins
- Dallas: Arike Ogunbowale
- Indiana: Kelsey Mitchell
- LA: Kelsey Plum
- Minnesota: Napheesa Collier
- NY: Sabrina Ionescu
- Portland: Bridget Carleton
- Seattle: Ezi Magbegor
- Toronto: Marina Mabrey
