Sparks make key contract decisions after WNBA season ends

The Los Angeles Sparks’ 2025 season came to an end on Thursday following their 98-68 loss to the Las Vegas Aces. The Sparks had already been eliminated from playoff contention after the Seattle Storm’s dramatic win against the Golden State Valkyries on Tuesday. But as the Sparks prepared for their offseason to begin, there were a couple of important decisions the team made regarding Rae Burrell and Emma Cannon, as per Richard Cohen of Her Hoop Stats.

The contract decisions that the Sparks made on Rae Burrell and Emma Cannon were the WNBA’s time off bonus. A time off bonus in the WNBA is additional money teams are permitted to give players as an incentive to limit time playing in other leagues during the offseason. The additional money still counts against the team’s salary cap, and they are allowed a maximum total of $50,000 to award in time off bonuses.

For the Sparks, Burrell was reportedly given $12,500 while Cannon was given $37,500. After receiving the time off bonus, players have a limit between 0-90 days they can play in another league and still receive the bonus.

For a player like Burrell, who played in Unrivaled’s inaugural season, she would still be able to do so and receive the additional money. Unrivaled’s season runs only three months from January-March. The time off bonus is more of an incentive to not play in overseas leagues whose seasons run longer.

Both Burrell and Cannon played important roles for the Sparks this season, albeit for different reasons. Burrell took a big step forward in her player development, becoming one of the team’s most valuable role players. Cannon didn’t play much, but she was arguably the most respected veteran in the Sparks’ locker room and helped keep the team together amid a challenging year.

Following the Sparks’ loss to the Aces on Thursday, general manager Raegan Pebley emphasized the importance of Cannon on the roster despite limited playing time.

“She is as important to this team and what we’re doing and what we’ve been doing as anybody,” Pebley said. “And we don’t know that without the feedback from Dearica [Hamby and KP [Kelsey Plum] and Danielle Robinson who had experience with her.”

As for Burrell, she dropped a career-high 20 points in the Sparks’ win against the Phoenix Mercury earlier this week, and she got the start in place of Rickea Jackson who sat out against the Aces. Prior to the Aces game, Sparks head coach Lynne Roberts spoke about Burrell’s development and her importance to the team.

“Rae’s been phenomenal. I think she’s figured out her value on this team and what she brings, which is. . .coming of the bench and elevating the level of intensity and effort and the pace of the game,” Roberts said. “And I think she’s figured out that she knows she has my trust to go be who she is. She’s just a great human and she’s goofy as heck, but I love that. I love that about her. She brings life to any room she comes in and I want to fan that fire rather than try to put it out. I’ve seen a lot of growth from her and she’s improved through the season.”