The WNBA’s new media deal, an 11-year agreement, is set to roughly triple the $60 million the league annually takes in from its current agreement.
Stewart has been playing in New York on a slight discount, a one-year, $208,219 deal that allows the Liberty to have some cap flexibility and retain the core of Jonquel Jones—a fellow former MVP—and Sabrina Ionescu. The max Stewart could be playing for is $241,984 per year for four years.
After signing her initial four-year rookie contract with the Seattle Storm in 2016, a two-year deal to stay in Seattle followed in 2020. Stewart has been signing one-year deals since 2022, which was her last with the franchise that drafted her.
This season is her third straight on a one-year contract and 2025 will be her fourth, assuming she follows through on her comments.
It’s a similar approach to what LeBron James has done for roughly the past decade. Except for his initial four-year deal with the Lakers in 2018, James has regularly signed a two-year contract with a player option in the second year since he returned to Cleveland in 2014.
The approach has been used as a leverage play against his teams to make sure they’re invested in title contention while he’s there and as a way to maximize his earnings.
One-year deals allow players to capitalize on the salary cap when it increases, instead of being locked into team-friendly deals when the cap grows. (There is obviously the risk of injury; Stewart did tear her Achilles in 2019.)
“I don’t mind the one-years,” Stewart added. “I’m going to burn my core.”
Stewart was referring to the WNBA’s “core player” rule, which is similar to the NFL’s franchise tag. Teams can designate one “core” free agent every offseason, and players can be cored only three times in their careers.
Players on the core designation are eligible for a no-trade clause and a one-year supermax contract paying $241,984, although Stewart and the Liberty agreed to the lower salary last offseason so New York could afford to keep Jones.
Two more “core” designations would carry the 30-year-old Stewart well into her prime. Cored players are allowed to negotiate long-term deals with their teams if they like, but given Stewart’s approach, it doesn’t appear she will be doing that anytime soon.
