2022 WNBA free agency tracker: Top free agents, key dates, things to know

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The Chicago Sky have finalized deals with some of the biggest names remaining on the market, which essentially brings 2022 WNBA free agency to a close -- at least in any meaningful sense. Reigning Finals MVP Kahleah Copper will be back, as will Courtney Vandersloot and Allie Quigley. In addition, they've signed Emma Meesseman, the former All-Star and 2019 Finals MVP who sat out last season.

WIth the core of their title team returning, the Sky are going to be a threat to win it all once again. But they weren't the only contender making big moves this winter. The Connecticut Sun re-signed reigning MVP Jonquel Jones, while the Seattle Storm brought back the entirety of its big three: Breanna Stewart (reportedly on just a one-year deal), Jewell Loyd and Sue Bird (for her 21st and final WNBA season.)

Elsewhere, A'ja WIlson is going back to the Las Vegas Aces, reigning scoring champion Tina Charles joined the Phoenix Mercury and legendary center Sylvia Fowles announced she is returning to the Minnesota Lynx for what will be her final season. The Los Angeles Sparks also jumped into the mix by signing Australian center Liz Cambage away from the Aces.

For most of the league's history, free agency wasn't much of an event, but that's changed thanks to the most recent collective bargaining agreement. Here is everything you need to know about 2022 WNBA free agency:

When does it start?

Teams are allowed to start talking with players on Jan. 15, but no deals can officially be signed until Feb. 1. While those rules are skirted to some extent -- much like in the NBA -- teams that are caught breaking them will get punished, as we saw recently when the Seattle Storm were fined for announcing a new deal with Sue Bird well ahead of the starting dates.

How does WNBA free agency work?

In general, it works just like it does in the NBA. Once free agency begins, teams can start talking to players, who are grouped into different classifications based on their contracts. Most players will be unrestricted (can talk to and sign with any team they want) or restricted (prior team has the ability to match any contract offer).

There are also some players who are reserved. These are players who have spent three or fewer seasons in the league, and their prior team has exclusive negotiating rights. Often these are veterans who came into the WNBA later in their career, but they can also be younger players who went undrafted or were not on a typical rookie scale contract for whatever reason.

Finally, the WNBA has a unique designation called "core players." This operates similar to a franchise tag in the NFL, and grants teams exclusive negotiating rights with a player. Most often players who are "cored" will re-sign with their former team, but in some instances, teams will negotiate sign-and-trade deals. Teams generally use the core designation on stars, but they must do so wisely because players can only be "cored" three times in their career.

2022 free agents

Here's a look at every player hitting free agency this winter, separated by classification.

Core

Player	Prior team	New team	Position	Status
Kahleah Copper	Chicago Sky	Chicago Sky	G	Signed
Jonquel Jones	Connecticut Sun	Connecticut Sun	F/C	Signed
Jewell Loyd	Seattle Storm	Seattle Storm	G	Signed

Unrestricted

Player	Prior team	New team	Position	Status
Rebecca Allen	New York Liberty	New York Liberty	G/F	Signed
Jillian Alleyne	Minnesota Lynx		F	Unsigned
Rachel Banham	Minnesota Lynx	Minnesota Lynx	G	Signed
Sue Bird	Seattle Storm	Seattle Storm	G	Signed
Crystal Bradford	Atlanta Dream	Chicago Sky	G/F	Signed
Jessica Breland	Indiana Fever		F	Unsigned
Cierra Burdick	Seattle Storm		F	Unsigned
Liz Cambage	Las Vegas Aces	Los Angeles Sparks	C	Signed
Emma Cannon	Indiana Fever	Indiana Fever	F	Signed
Tina Charles	Washington Mystics	Phoenix Mercury	F/C	Signed
Layshia Clarendon	Minnesota Lynx	Minnesota Lynx	G	Signed
Nia Coffey	Los Angeles Sparks	Atlanta Dream	G/F	Signed
Sophie Cunningham	Phoenix Mercury	Phoenix Mercury	G	Signed
Blake Dietrick	Atlanta Dream		G	Unsigned
Stefanie Dolson	Chicago Sky	New York Liberty	F/C	Signed
Candice Dupree	Atlanta Dream		F	Unsigned
Sylvia Fowles	Minnesota Lynx	Minnesota Lynx	C	Signed
Reshanda Gray	New York Liberty		F	Unsigned
Tianna Hawkins	Atlanta Dream	Washington Mystics	F	Signed
Tiffany Hayes	Atlanta Dream	Atlanta Dream	G	Signed
Briann January	Connecticut Sun	Seattle Storm	G	Signed
Angel McCoughtry	Las Vegas Aces	Minnesota Lynx	G/F	Signed
Emma Meesseman	Washington Mystics	Chicago Sky	G	Signed
Leilani Mitchell	Washington Mystics		G	Unsigned
Astou Ndour-Fall	Chicago Sky	None	F/C	Sitting out season
Sonja Petrovic	Phoenix Mercury		G	Unsigned
Theresa Plaisance	Washington Mystics		F/C	Unsigned
Allie Quigley	Chicago Sky	Chicago Sky	G	Signed
Angel Robinson	Phoenix Mercury		F/C	Unsigned
Odyssey Sims	Atlanta Dream		G	Unsigned
Alanna Smith	Phoenix Mercury	Indiana Fever	F	Signed training camp contract
Breanna Stewart	Seattle Storm	Seattle Storm	F	Signed
Kiah Stokes	Las Vegas Aces	Las Vegas Aces	C	Signed
Shekinna Stricklen	Atlanta Dream		G/F	Unsigned
Courtney Vandersloot	Chicago Sky	Chicago Sky	G	Signed
Shatori Walker-Kimbrough	Washington Mystics	Washington Mystics	G	Signed
Courtney Williams	Atlanta Dream	Connecticut Sun	G	Signed
Elizabeth Williams	Atlanta Dream	Washington Mystics	C	Signed
Riquna Williams	Las Vegas Aces	Las Vegas Aces	G	Signed
Shavonte Zellous	Washington Mystics		G	Unsigned

Restricted

Player	Prior team	New team	Position	Status
Lindsay Allen	Indiana Fever	Indiana Pacers	G	Signed
Monique Billings	Atlanta Dream	Atlanta Dream	F	Signed
Lexi Brown	Chicago Sky		G	Qualifying offer extended
Jordin Canada	Seattle Storm	Los Angeles Sparks	G	Signed
Diamond DeShields	Chicago Sky	Phoenix Mercury	G	Traded
Myisha Hines-Allen	Washington Mystics	Washington Mystics	F	Signed
Kia Nurse	Phoenix Mercury	Phoenix Mercury	G	Signed
Mercedes Russell	Seattle Storm	Seattle Storm	C	Signed
Stephanie Talbot	Seattle Storm	Seattle Storm	F	Signed
A'ja Wilson	Las Vegas Aces	Las Vegas Aces	F	Signed

Reserved

Player	Prior team	New team	Position	Status
Te'a Cooper	Los Angeles Sparks	Los Angeles Sparks	G	Signed training camp contract
Anna Cruz	Minnesota Lynx		G	Qualifying offer extended
Temi Fagbenle	Indiana Fever		C	Qualifying offer extended
Bernadett Hatar	Indiana Fever		C	Qualifying offer extended
Stephanie Jones	Connecticut Sun	Connecticut Sun	F	Signed training camp contract
Ji-Su Park	Las Vegas Aces		C	Qualifying offer extended
Nayo Raincock-Ekunwe	New York Liberty		F/C	Qualifying offer extended
Victoria Vivians	Indiana Fever	Indiana Fever	G	Signed training camp contract