This renovation won’t pay for itself
From The GIST (hi@thegistsports.com)
It’s a new day!
…and there’s still no new WNBA collective bargaining agreement (CBA). Yesterday marked the league’s deadline to ensure the season start wouldn’t be delayed, but despite 12 hours of overnight meetings, it came and went without an agreement. The clock keeps ticking…
- In other hoops news, the Miami Heat’s Bam Adebayo dropped 83 points (!!!) last night. And while we hope to see his better half, Las Vegas Aces icon A’ja Wilson, on the court soon, she could consider coaching in the interim after Adebayo credited her for his stellar play.
— UConn women’s basketball star Azzi Fudd, who stopped by The GIST of It podcast before leading the defending national champion Huskies to their sixth straight Big East title on Monday. One step at a time.
NFL
🏈 Ready, steady, go!
The GIST: The NFL’s free agency period starts today, kicking off the 2026 league year. And there’s New Year resolutions everywhere you look as contenders fill out their rosters, stars hunt for new homes, and the trade market heats up. No dropping the ball here — let’s discuss the latest.
⚙️ How it works: Free agency doesn’t start until today at 4 p.m. ET, but your notifications might already be flooded with deals. That’s because the 52-hour “legal tampering period” started on Monday, allowing teams to begin negotiating with players’ agents. Deals can’t be officially inked until later today.
💸 Salary cap increases by league record $22M: Teams have some extra cash this offseason as the league’s 2026 salary cap (the total amount each front office can spend on player contracts in a given year) is now $301.2M per team. And squads are spending, from record-breaking contracts to the Tennessee Titans dropping a cool $284M on Monday alone.
♻️ Quarterback (QB) carousel keeps spinning: The Miami Dolphins are on the hook for an NFL-record $99.2M after releasing QB Tua Tagovailoa, but the lefty signal caller already landed elsewhere, agreeing to a deal with the Atlanta Falcons on Monday.
- Meanwhile, former Las Vegas Raiders QB Geno Smith is poised for a full-circle moment after being dealt back to the NY Jets nine years after his first stint with Gang Green.
- As for the reigning Super Bowl MVP, running back Kenneth Walker III is on his way to Kansas City, where he’ll play alongside 36-year-old tight end Travis Kelce, who’s returning to the gridiron on a one-year deal. Those renovations won’t pay for themselves, after all.
TOGETHER WITH ION
🌹 It’s our favorite season: awards women’s soccer
⚽ The new NWSL season officially kicks off later this week, and we have the perfect way to ensure you don’t miss a minute of the action. Grab your lucky jersey and click over to ION, the premier home for women’s sports.
- First up, the 🌀 Kansas City Current face the 👑 Utah Royals Saturday at 4 pm ET. Then, it’s ☀️ Bay FC vs. the 🏔️ Denver Summit at 6:30 pm ET. Finally, the 🌊 San Diego Wave take on the 💨 Houston Dash at 8:45 pm ET.
📺 Your go-to NWSL destination, ION offers coverage on TV and streaming every Saturday throughout the entire regular season. That’s right, no rushed channel-surfing or last-minute password sharing. We are so back.
🎾 World No. 6 Amanda Anisimova loses in Round of 16 at Indian Wells Open
The competition is fierce at tennis’ “fifth major,” and last night, Anisimova sadly succumbed to the pressure, falling to No. 10 Victoria Mboko in the Round of 16. Fingers crossed No. 5 Jess Pegula, the last American woman standing, can advance to the semis by defeating No. 12 Belinda Bencic later today.
🇮🇷⚽ Two additional members of Iranian women’s national team granted asylum in Australia
Another Iranian player and a member of the national team staff will stay Down Under, joining the five players who have been granted asylum in Australia with the war in Iran underway.
- The Iranian team was in Australia for the Women’s Asian Cup when the U.S. and Israel bombed their country on February 28th and fear potential consequences after refusing to sing the Iranian national anthem before their first match.
⚾ Team USA in danger of World Baseball Classic (WBC) elimination
The Americans were expected to cruise to the knockouts, but were absolutely stunned 8–6 by Team Italy last night, meaning they could fail to advance out of the group stage altogether. It all comes down to today’s 7 p.m. ET battle between Italy and Mexico, where the red, white, and blue will be hoping for an Italian victory. *gulps*
🥇⛷️ Oksana Masters finds redemption, wins gold in sitting sprint ski
Masters continues to show why she’s an all-time American Paralympic icon, winning her 21st medal across the Winter and Summer Games yesterday. And this one was extra special: Masters narrowly missed out on gold and instead claimed silver in this race four years ago, making this victory that much sweeter.
🇺🇸🏀 FIBA Women's World Cup Qualifier: USA vs. Senegal — Tonight at 5 p.m. ET — truTV
- Looking for your women’s basketball fix? Us too. Luckily, some of the world’s best hoopers — including Paige Bueckers, Angel Reese, and Caitlin Clark — are playing on the same team as the top-ranked Americans look to punch their ticket to September’s World Cup. Buckets, loading.
🏒 PWHL: Boston Fleet vs. Seattle Torrent — Tonight at 10 p.m. ET — YouTube
- League-leading Boston extended their win streak to six with last night’s W over the Vancouver Goldeneyes. Now the Fleet have a chance to sweep the poorly performing West Coast expansion squads. Can Boston goaltender Aerin Frankel get the job done? All signs point to yes.
⛳ PGA: THE PLAYERS Championship — Tomorrow to Sunday — Golf Channel
- The PGA’s finest will compete for the largest purse on the Tour at TPC Sawgrass, a 123-golfer field that includes world No. 2 and defending PLAYERS champ Rory McIlroy, who was initially questionable to participate after a recent injury. No stopping him.
🏀 NBA: Boston Celtics vs. Oklahoma City Thunder — Tomorrow at 9:30 p.m. ET — Prime Video
- OKC superstar Shai Gilgeous-Alexander is the league’s reigning MVP for a reason: He matched NBA icon Wilt Chamberlain’s record of 126 straight games with 20+ points earlier this week, only upping the ante ahead of this showdown with fellow MVP candidate, Boston’s Jaylen Brown.
Question of the Day
Today marks 58 days until the WNBA season is supposed to tip off on May 8th. But with CBA negotiations still ongoing, we want to know: Do you think the season start will be delayed?
Today’s email was brought to you by Alessandra Puccio, Lisa Minutillo, Lauren Tuiskula, Grace DePaull, and Charlotte Mackenzie. Fact-checking by Elisha Gunaratnam and Mikaela Perez. Ops by Briana Ekanem and Elisha Gunaratnam. Managing edits by Lauren Tuiskula and Alessandra Puccio. Head of content Ellen Hyslop.