Mercury Buy Out DeWanna Bonner Contract

DeWanna Bonner is a free agent in waiting. The Phoenix Mercury reached a buyout with the six-time All-Star on Monday, the team announced, and The Athletic and Yahoo Sports both carried it. The move was not about fit. General manager Nick U'Ren said the club worked out a deal that lets her chase a title in what could be her final postseason. WNBA teams have 48 hours to claim her off waivers. They need the full $500,000 of her salary in cap space to do it.

Bonner was on a one-year, unprotected contract worth $500,000. Agent Mike Cound told The Athletic the terms were time served. Phoenix saves a little over the seven remaining regular-season games and opens a roster spot. If she clears, she is an unrestricted free agent. The minimum she can sign for is a prorated veteran minimum of $300,000, about $35,000 if she plays five more regular-season games, The Athletic calculated.

DeWanna Bonner buyout: two titles, and a 13-24 club

Phoenix drafted her No. 5 in 2009. She spent 10 seasons there, won titles in 2009 and 2014, made three All-Star teams, and was a three-time Sixth Player of the Year. A 2020 sign-and-trade sent her to the Connecticut Sun, where she made three more All-Star teams, reached four semifinals, and lost the 2022 Finals to the Las Vegas Aces. Indiana signed her for 2025, waived her after nine games, and she returned to the Mercury for a Finals run that ended in a sweep by the Aces.

This Mercury team is 13-24 and 12th in the league, The Athletic wrote, out of the playoffs after a 99-89 loss to the Atlanta Dream on Saturday. Yahoo Sports had the same two-game slide. Bonner averaged 9.1 points and 6.8 rebounds in last season's Finals run. That tape is what a contender is buying. The 2026 Mercury are not that team.

Waivers, cap math, and where she can land

U'Ren called her an important part of the roster and cited leadership, experience, and competitiveness. Bonner said she does not know what the future holds and thanked Phoenix for a possible last postseason look. "Phoenix will always be a special part of my career," she said, per The Athletic. A claiming team has to eat the $500,000 number. Most playoff clubs do not have that sitting around. Clearing waivers is the more likely path, then a short veteran deal for the stretch run.

There is no reported landing spot yet. Yahoo Sports noted she appeared in the "Life in the W" docuseries with A'ja Wilson and Napheesa Collier. That is not a rumor. It is the company she keeps. Cut-week in the NFL is Zamir White to the Saints and a pile of 53-man math. This is the WNBA version: a champion who wants one more run, and a last-place club willing to let her take it.

DeWanna Bonner buyout FAQ

Did the Mercury release DeWanna Bonner? They bought out her one-year, $500,000 contract on Monday, per the team, The Athletic, and Yahoo Sports. She is on waivers for 48 hours.

Why did Phoenix buy out DeWanna Bonner? U'Ren said it was to give her a chance to chase a title in what could be her final postseason. Phoenix is 13-24 and already eliminated.

Can any WNBA team sign DeWanna Bonner now? A claim requires $500,000 in cap space. If she clears, she is an unrestricted free agent and can sign a prorated veteran-minimum deal.