Liberty sign Stewart, Jones, Ionescu to long-term contracts - ESPN

The New York Liberty announced Friday that forward Breanna Stewart, center Jonquel Jones and guard Sabrina Ionescu all have signed multiyear deals to return to the team.

On her podcast, Stewart said she has a three-year standard max contract — which is $1.19 million this season — where she'll be getting 17% of the cap each year. Sources told ESPN's Alexa Philippou that Ionescu's contract is identical to Stewart's deal. The details of Jones' contract are not yet known, sources said she took less than Stewart and Ionescu.

«We need to make sure we're able to really keep all the best players on the team,» Stewart said on the «Game Recognize Game With Stewie and Myles» podcast. «That's why you'll see a few of us in the millions, and everybody else trying to get as much as they can while also having a great team.»

It previously had been reported that the trio, all part of the Liberty's 2024 WNBA championship team, would be back in New York in 2026. But it's notable that each of them has agreed to a term longer than one season.

With the WNBA's compressed free agency this year due to the late collective bargaining agreement in March, some free agents have opted for one-year deals with a chance to revisit after this season. But in a release from the team Friday, Stewart, Jones and Ionescu all stressed that they wanted to stay in New York long-term.

«My family is set up and solid here,» Stewart said in the release. «I'm committed to the Liberty, and I'm excited to continue to invest in my teammates, in the community, and in a franchise that has already given me so much. I promise to keep fighting to bring more championships to the greatest city in the world.»

Stewart, the No. 1 draft pick by Seattle in 2016, played six seasons