The Liberty have officially named Breanna Stewart a core player, securing her for the upcoming season and exclusive negotiation rights
This core designation means New York has exclusive rights to negotiate with Stewart, effectively taking her off the free agent market. Stewart has already expressed her desire to return to Brooklyn and help the Liberty defend their title in 2025. However, this move uses up her last available core designation for her career.
Liberty general manager Jonathan Kolb also made a few other moves this week. On Monday, the team extended qualifying offers to Ivana Dojkic, Rebekah Gardner, and Marine Johannes. Then on Tuesday, they signed 5-foot-7 guard Jaylyn Sherrod to a training camp deal.
Other players who received franchise designations include Kelsey Plum from the Las Vegas Aces, Satou Sabally from the Dallas Wings, and Gabby Williams from the Seattle Storm.
The core designation comes with a one-year qualifying offer at the WNBA’s max salary of $249,244. However, it’s not unusual for players to take less for the team’s benefit. Stewart is a great example of this; she took less than the max in 2024, even while being cored. Last season, she was the Liberty’s highest-paid player, earning $205,000.
Teams have until January 20 to issue franchise designations and qualifying offers to reserved and restricted free agents. Negotiations can start the next day, but contracts can’t be signed until February 1.
