New York’s Sabrina Ionescu, Minnesota’s Napheesa Collier and Los Angeles’ Kelsey Plum were all extended franchise tags by their WNBA teams worth potentially $1.4 million as free agency opened upNEW YORK — New York’s Sabrina Ionescu, Minnesota’s Napheesa Collier and Los Angeles’ Kelsey Plum were all extended franchise tags by their WNBA teams worth potentially $1.4 million as free agency opened up.By giving the “core” designation to those players, their teams have exclusive negotiating rights which comes with a guaranteed one-year deal at the new supermax salary. That’s more than five-times above the top salary they could earn in the last CBA.Players can negotiate different terms to help their teams sign other players to fit under the new salary cap that’s expected to be around $7 million.Other players giving the “core” designation include Indiana’s Kelsey Mitchell, Dallas’ Arike Ogunbowale, Atlanta’s Allisha Gray, Chicago’s Ariel Atkins and Seattle’s Ezi Magbegor.Expansion franchises Portland and Toronto extended franchise tag offers to players. The Fire selected Bridget Carleton with the first pick in the draft last week and offered her the tag. The Tempo did the same for Marina Mabrey, who they took with the sixth pick.The franchise tag is a way for a team to prevent a player from leaving in free agency without getting anything in return for them. The teams and players can also negotiate doing a sign-and-trade agreement for those players.Starting in 2027, players can only be given t …
