Sports
WNBA free-agency chaos: Why did so many All-Stars move for one-year contracts?
Executives around the WNBA largely expected this offseason’s market to serve as a tune-up for next winter. At the start of the offseason, only two non-rookie contract players had deals that extended past 2025. Seismic change loomed.
But after an avalanche of moves, significant shifts have come an offseason early as a hectic week of free agency is reshaping the upcoming season.
In six days, 10 multi-time All-Stars — Satou Sabally, Brittney Griner, Alyssa Thomas, Jewell Loyd, Kelsey Plum, Brionna Jones, DeWanna Bonner, Natasha Howard, Tina Charles and Courtney Vandersloot — changed teams via trade or the open market.
Veterans who had only played for one team, including Griner (11 years in Phoenix), Thomas (11 years in Connecticut) and Loyd (10 years in Seattle), are with different franchises. Plum had spent her career only with the Aces, and Sabally was a five-year mainstay in Dallas.
Yet, they’ll all be wearing new uniforms in 2025. And maybe only for 2025.
All of the star players so far in free agency have signed one-year deals, which means they’ll be back on the market next year. The short-term contracts allow them to maximize their long-term earning potential.
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An economic windfall is expected to hit the league in 2026. Assuming there isn’t a work stoppage, a new collective bargaining agreement will almost assuredly feature higher player salaries and a league salary-cap spike. A new media rights deal that will pay the WNBA an average of $200 million a season over the next 11 years is expected to be a key economic driver. A season from now, players likely will return to inking multiyear deals at higher rates.
But by changing teams in 2025, they can get a sense for their new franchises and see how front offices tailor rosters to their strengths before committing long-term. No situation is entirely predictable, but the decision to try out new situations now, and not in the first year of a multiyear agreement, should help players make more informed decisions in 12 months.
In the short term, stars on new teams can gather information on their new teams this season while also maintaining future leverage.
These bold moves indicate a new era for WNBA players, who have more agency than ever in their decisions to play at their preferred destinations. Historically, stars were largely tethered to the teams that drafted them. Trade requests were relatively rare. Stars like Chelsea Gray and Candace Parker changed teams in recent seasons, but no multi-time All-Stars were traded in 2021 and 2022. In the last three seasons, including this offseason, seven multi-time All-Stars have been dealt.
“That’s just the evolution of the league and where we’re seeing basketball and women’s sports going,” Loyd said. “There’s definitely a lot more freedom and things happening.”
Certainly, teams that took big swings — Phoenix, Atlanta and Los Angeles especially — hope they can build on the foundation they laid this past week.
But the short-term contracts mean teams took risks with these transactions.
The Dream, who haven’t had a winning record since 2018, hope adding Jones and Griner will provide them not only a shot at a top-four playoff seed this season, but also with a significant advantage next winter in talks. The Mercury surely want their big three of Sabally, Thomas and Kahleah Copper — potentially Big Four if Diana Taurasi returns for the 2025 season— to be intact for years to come. Led by Caitlin Clark, Aliyah Boston and Kelsey Mitchell, the Fever already have title aspirations, and the veteran additions of Howard and Bonner could serve as missing pieces to the puzzle.
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The benefits of incumbency could give teams a head-start in negotiations next offseason. But even franchises like the Chicago Sky and Dallas Wings, who aren’t expected to be in title contention, made moves (Chicago added Vandersloot, Kia Nurse and Bec Allen, while the Wings acquired DiJonai Carrington, NaLyssa Smith and Ty Harris) that could help them become a more appealing destination for free agents in 2026.
More madness is bound to strike next January. More coupling, and recoupling, of stars will occur. Unrivaled, the new winter 3×3 professional winter league, was an epicenter for WNBA gossip and deal-making. It will be a hub next year, too, with almost every Unrivaled player in the inaugural season hitting the market.
This offseason was a reminder there should be no surprises when a franchise centerpiece looks elsewhere.
Change, even from players who have historically avoided it, is on the table for everyone.
(Photo of Satou Sabally and Brittney Griner: Megan Briggs / Getty Images)
Sports
Michigan football staffer who had alleged affair with Sherrone Moore still employed by university
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The football staffer who allegedly had a romantic relationship with fired head coach Sherrone Moore is still employed by the University of Michigan.
The woman has served as Moore’s executive assistant.
“There is no change in her employment status,” a Michigan spokesperson told Fox News.
The woman received a massive pay bump between 2024 and 2025.
Former Michigan football coach Sherrone Moore appears via video in court in Ann Arbor, Mich., Dec. 12, 2025. (Ryan Sun/AP Photo)
The individual allegedly linked to Moore, whose LinkedIn profile lists her as an executive assistant to the head football coach at the University of Michigan, made just over $58,000 in 2023 and 2024, according to public payroll information. In the 2025 fiscal year, though, her salary jumped to $99,000, according to a salary disclosure report from the University of Michigan.
During Moore’s arraignment Friday, prosecutors alleged he and the staffer had been in an “intimate relationship for a number of years,” which they say the woman ended on Monday. Prosecutors further claim Moore sent multiple text messages and made phone calls that prompted the woman to report the situation to the university and cooperate with its investigation.
Moore was released from jail Friday on $25,000 bond, according to police records obtained by Fox News Digital.
However, it’s unclear whether Moore will be returning home to his family.
Moore’s attorney, Joseph Simon, declined to say whether the coach will be going home to his wife and three children while speaking to reporters at an Ann Arbor courthouse Friday.
FIRED MICHIGAN COACH SHERRONE MOORE ACCUSED OF STALKING VICTIM ‘FOR MONTHS’ IN POLICE DISPATCH AUDIO
“I’m just going to not answer that question,” Simon said when asked if Moore was “going to be able to go home.”
Moore has been married to wife Kelli since 2015, and they have three daughters together — Shiloh, Solei and Sadie. Simon also declined to comment on the “mood” of his client after Moore was charged.
The conditions of Moore’s release require him to wear a GPS tether and continue mental health treatment and forbid him from communicating with the victim.
Moore was fired Wednesday, and the University of Michigan quickly announced it found credible evidence he had an “inappropriate relationship” with a staffer. Moore was then detained by police Wednesday after news of his dismissal broke.
Moore was arraigned in court Friday on stalking and home invasion charges. According to prosecutors, he faces a felony charge of home invasion in the third degree and two misdemeanor charges of stalking and breaking and entering without the owner’s permission.
Both misdemeanor charges are related to a “domestic relationship.”
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Michigan Wolverines head football coach Sherrone Moore during warmups before a game against the Northwestern Wildcats at Wrigley Field in Chicago Nov. 15, 2025. (Aaron J. Thornton/Getty Images)
When Moore was fired from his position as head coach, prosecutors said, it prompted him to visit the woman’s home.
Moore then allegedly “barged” his way into the residence, grabbed a butter knife and a pair of kitchen scissors and began threatening his own life. According to prosecutors, Moore allegedly told the staffer, “My blood is on your hands” and “You ruined my life.”
Prosecutors claimed Moore “terrorized” the staffer and that they believed him to be a “risk to public safety.”
Fox News’ Patrick McGovern contributed to this report.
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As if Simi Valley coach Jim Benkert doesn’t have enough things to do, he’s taken on the task of putting on the National Football Foundation and College Hall of Fame high school all-star games Dec. 20 at Simi Valley High.
At 4 p.m. there will be a flag football game featuring players from the San Gabriel Chapter against the Coastal Valley Chapter. At 7, players from Ventura County will take on Los Angeles County in an 11-man game.
Agoura’s Dustin Croick is coaching the West team that includes his outstanding quarterback, Gavin Gray. Taft’s Thomas Randolph is coaching the East team that has a strong group of quarterbacks, including Michael Wynn Jr. of St. Genevieve.
Simi Valley High will be the site for all-star football games on Dec. 20.
(Eric Sondheimer / Los Angeles Times)
Tickets are $10 and will help pay for the growing costs of all-star games, from uniforms to insurance.
Benkert, one of the winningest coaches in state history with more than 300 victories, said he’s determined to make it work.
“We’re trying to keep all-star games alive,” he said. “If we don’t do it, there’s nothing.”
This is a daily look at the positive happenings in high school sports. To submit any news, please email eric.sondheimer@latimes.com.
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The Utah Utes will be ending an era when they play against Nebraska in the Las Vegas Bowl Dec. 31.
It will be head coach Kyle Whittingham’s last game as head coach after the 66-year-old announced Friday he is stepping down. Whittingham is the winningest coach in program history, going 117-88 over 22 seasons.
“The time is right to step down from my position as the head football coach at the University of Utah,” Whittingham said in a statement Friday.
Utah Utes head coach Kyle Whittingham on the sideline during the first half against the Baylor Bears at McLane Stadium in Waco, Texas, Nov. 15, 2025. (Chris Jones/Imagn Images)
“It’s been an honor and a privilege to lead the program for the past 21 years, and I’m very grateful for the relationships forged with all the players and assistant coaches that have worked so hard and proudly worn the drum and feather during our time here.”
Whittingham co-coached the Fiesta Bowl with Utah in 2004 and then took over as the permanent head coach the following season. Whittingham led Utah to a winning record in 18 of his 21 seasons.
This season, Utah is 10-2 and at one point ranked No. 13 in the AP poll, just missing out on the College Football Playoff (CFB).
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Utah Utes head coach Kyle Whittingham reacts during the second half against the Kansas Jayhawks at David Booth Kansas Memorial Stadium in Lawrence, Kan., Nov. 28, 2025. (Jay Biggerstaff/Imagn Images)
Whittingham was named the Western Athletic Conference Defensive Player of the Year in 1981 in his senior year.
Before becoming a coach, Whittingham played in the USFL and the CFL from 1982 to 1984. He began his coaching career as a graduate assistant at BYU.
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Whittingham joined the Utah staff in 1994 and rose through the ranks. He began as the defensive line coach and eventually became the defensive coordinator before becoming the team’s head coach.
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His final game on the sideline will be the team’s bowl game against Nebraska. Whittingham, who is 11-6 in bowl games as a head coach, will look to end his tenure with a win on Dec. 31.
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