The New York Liberty’s championship core faces an almost impossible retention battle. The new WNBA CBA’s explosive jump in the supermax salary—now a 20% cap hit versus 16.5%—against a hard $7 million cap creates a mathematics problem where keeping all three stars (Breanna Stewart, Sabrina Ionescu, Jonquel Jones) at $1.4 million each would consume 60% of the entire team’s payroll before roster construction even begins.
General Manager Jonathan Kolb stood at a Barclays Center podium last September and declared his “utmost confidence” that the New York Liberty’s Big 3—Breanna Stewart, Sabrina Ionescu, and Jonquel Jones—would return to defend their 2024 WNBA championship. The sentiment was noble, born from a season of unprecedented chemistry and triumph. But the numbers behind the league’s new collective bargaining agreement, ratified Monday, reveal that confidence may have been premature. The pathway to retain all three stars is no longer a strategic puzzle; it’s a brutal mathematical constraint that may force the most difficult decision of Kolb’s tenure.
The Supermax Squeeze
The core issue is the divergent growth between the salary cap and the supermax salary. The 2026 cap is set at $7 million—a monumental leap from the $1.5 million cap in 2025. However, the supermax contract (available only to veterans meeting specific performance criteria) is now a 20% cap hit. This represents a significant escalation from the previous CBA, where the supermax was roughly 16.5% of the cap[NY Post Sports].
At 20% of a $7 million cap, the supermax value is approximately $1.4 million per player. Stewart, Ionescu, and Jones are all eligible. If all three signed for that figure, they would immediately consume $4.2 million, or 60%, of the Liberty’s total payroll. This is a scenario that is functionally impossible under the WNBA’s hard cap system, where there is no luxury tax or mid-level exception to create flexibility. The league’s new requirement for teams to carry 12 players (not counting two non-counting developmental spots) further complicates the math, as the remaining $2.8 million must cover at least nine more roster spots.
- The Cap Hit Jump: Supermax moves from ~16.5% to 20% of cap.
- The Hard Reality: Three max deals = 60% of a $7M cap = $4.2M
- The Roster Problem: ~$2.8M left for 9+ players under a 12-man mandate.
Roster Construction Realities & The Middle-Class Squeeze
To understand the squeeze, look at Stewart’s current deal. In 2025, she signed for $208,400, which was about 13.8% of that year’s $1.5 million cap. If she took the same relative percentage in 2026, her salary would be roughly $967,951. The new supermax, at ~$1.4 million, represents a theoretical surrender of over $432,000 from that hypothetical scaling[NY Post Sports]. For a player of Stewart’s stature—a two-time MVP and Finals MVP who was a visible advocate for the new CBA—a salary under $1 million is a tough sell.
The challenge extends beyond the Big 3. The new CBA dramatically alters the financial landscape for the rest of the roster. Minimum salaries now have a uniform 3.96% cap hit in 2026, regardless of experience. In 2025, a veteran minimum for a player with 3+ years was $78,831 (5.24% of cap). In 2026, that same cap hit is about $277,200. While the nominal dollar amount increases, the percentage is lower, slightly freeing up space but not nearly enough to solve the Big 3 problem. The real pressure falls on the “middle class” of veterans earning between the minimum and the max—their raises will be muted, and teams may have to reliant on cheap rookie-scale contracts, like the Liberty’s Leonie Fiebich.
The starting five alone, if it contained three superstars and two solid starters, could easily consume 55-60% of the cap. That leaves a sliver for depth, which is critical in a grueling 40-game regular season and playoffs.
What’s the Price for Contending?
This is the existential question for all WNBA front offices, but it’s most acute for the Liberty. The options are stark and unappealing:
- Sign One to Supermax, Hope for Discounts: Lock in the most indispensable star (likely Stewart) at $1.4M, and convince Ionescu and Jones to take significantly less—perhaps in the $900k-$1M range—to stay together. This risks one or both feeling undervalued and testing free agency.
- The Extension Gamble: The article notes a trend of top free agents seeking multi-year deals. A multi-year extension could average out the cap hit over time, providing long-term security for the player and cap predictability for the team. However, with the cap projected to rise in future years, a player might prefer a shorter deal to re-hit the market when the cap (and supermax value) is larger.
- The Trade Scenario: The most painful, but potentially necessary, path. Moving one of the Big 3 before or during free agency would bring back assets and massive cap relief, allowing the Liberty to retool around two stars and a deeper, more balanced roster. For fan情感, this is the nuclear option.
Jonathan Kolb’s work is cut out for him. He must navigate player psychology (what does “contending” mean to each star?), external pressure from a title-hungry fanbase, and the cold, hard math of the new CBA. The league’s first-ever “million-dollar player” contracts create a new status symbol, but they also create a potential bottleneck for dynasty-building.
The Liberty’s championship window is open, but the frame is narrowing. The next few months will reveal whether their historic Big 3 can be preserved, or if the very success they achieved together will be the thing that forces them apart. The ultimate price of contending, it turns out, might be the team itself.
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