'I'm not leaving Vegas': A'ja Wilson commits to re-signing with Aces ahead of historic WNBA free agency period
The WNBA's upcoming free agency period will be the next landmark in an unprecedented offseason
PHOENIX -- It is still unclear when WNBA free agency begins or how long it will last, but we know one thing for sure: A'ja Wilson will be staying with the Las Vegas Aces.
"I know I love Vegas. I'm not leaving Vegas, so I'm not looking anywhere," Wilson said before USA Basketball camp on Friday morning. "I'm looking to win another one. I'm looking to defend the championship that we have in Las Vegas. I'm looking to get better as a leader, as a player. So everything else just kind of falls in line."
The news came just hours before the WNBA expansion draft for the Toronto Tempo and Portland Fire was scheduled to take place.
This has been an unprecedented offseason in the WNBA. Because the collective bargaining agreement was being negotiated this offseason, all but two WNBA veterans signed contracts that expired after the 2025 season, anticipating the enormous salary bump that would come with a new deal. That means that every star, including Wilson, is currently a free agent. Wilson, a four-time MVP, is the best player in the game, so naturally, CBS Sports ranked her No. 1 in our free agency rankings.
She is not the first player to break her own free agency news. Earlier this week, Breanna Stewart and Sabrina Ionescu both confirmed they will remain with the New York Liberty.
Wilson has always spoken highly of the Aces, who selected her No. 1 overall in the 2018 draft. It has been one of the best star/team pairings in WNBA history. In her eight seasons, she's led the Aces to three championships and won four MVP awards and two Finals MVP awards.
After lengthy negotiations and multiple missed deadlines, the WNBA and WNBA Players Association agreed to a new CBA a couple of weeks ago. During the CBA negotiations, the WNBA floated April 7-18 as dates for free agency. The league still has not confirmed the exact dates of free agency, though it is expected to begin any day now. We know the WNBA college draft will take place on April 13 and that training camps will open on April 19.
Under the new CBA, the salary cap rose from $1.5 million in 2025 to $7 million in 2026. The supermax salary, which Wilson is eligible for and expected to sign, increased from $250,000 in 2025 to $1.4 million this season.
When asked what she was most proud of in the new CBA, Wilson told reporters that while she was most proud of "more money in our pocket" and how hard the players fought.
"I'm really, really proud of the fact that we never folded, we never left the table in moments where, I guess, the league tried to shake us up a little bit, in moments where people just felt like we needed to give," she said on Friday. "I'm so proud of our [executive committee] for standing at the table for us."
