Update: Valkyries extend qualifying offers to Burton, Vanloo, Zandalasini, and Fagbenle
These four were acquired in the expansion draft
The whole 2025 Valkyries Free Agency series is indexed here.
Update: Reserved and Restricted qualifying offers made
From Across The Timeline on 2025-01-14:
Golden State Valkyries extended a qualifying offer to Veronica Burton » Reserved
Golden State Valkyries extended a qualifying offer to Julie Vanloo » Reserved.
Golden State Valkyries extended a qualifying offer to Cecilia Zandalasini » Reserved
2024 was Cecilia Zandalasini's first WNBA appearance in the last six.
Golden State Valkyries extended a qualifying offer to Temi Fagbenle » Restricted
The qualifying offers were to be expected, as they were required for GSV to keep the Reserved and Restricted rights to the players, and GSV has plenty of money and cap space so there was no downside to making the offers. Indeed, if they did not make the offer, that would have made the expansion draft pick a waste.
There is still some question whether these players will play in the WNBA, especially with their commitments to their national teams and Eurobasket (Women’s European Basketball Championship) coming Jun 18 - 29, 2025.
The Reserved rights are strong. This means that those players (Burton, Vanloo, Zandalasini) can only negotiate a contract with GSV. If there is no agreement, then GSV retains those Reserved rights every future season, so there is no way for a player to wait out these rights (for instance by sitting out the WNBA season). (WNBA CBA, VI.8.c.)
The Restricted free agency rights are not as strong, but significant. They also last indefinitely, so there is no way for a player to wait out these rights. An RFA like Fagbenle can negotiate a contract with any other team, but GSV has the right to match it. (WNBA CBA, VI.6.a.) GSV could also negotiate a new contract with Fagbenle.
In both cases, the player can accept the qualifying offer and then become an unrestricted free agent after the contract expires. The QO is usually below what the player expects to get on the open market, so there is incentive to not do that.
The others: Suspended and Unrestricted
These are all the GSV free agents, besides
Monique Billings (unrestricted free agent),
María Conde (suspended - contract expired),
Iliana Rupert (suspended - contract expired)
The Suspended status means the player didn’t play in WNBA and GSV still hold their rights indefinitely. (WNBA CBA V.3). Conde and Rupert are “suspended” contracts, so I believe GSV doesn’t have to do anything to keep their rights. Thus, we will not hear any announcement of a qualifying offer for them because it is unnecessary.
Billings is an interesting case that we looked at before. The general feeling seems to be that a super-max contract would be overpaying her, but unless GSV cores her (and offers her a super-max), GSV has no special rights to negotiate with her.