How many free agents...

As many fans of the WNBA know, the collective bargaining agreement is set to expire after the 2007 WNBA season which means the league and the players' association will have to negotiate and reach an accord; ratify; and sign a new collective bargaining agreement

Since many things such as free agency; salary cap; and "core" players will be on the proverbial table for discussion, the chances for changes in these key issues are quite possible.

Let's assume the current "hard" salary cap is changed to a "soft" cap which will allow a few exemptions for teams to exceed the salary cap. If a huge change to the new bargaining agreement such as a "soft" cap is in place, I wonder how many current free agents (unrestricted and restricted) will sign multi-year contracts when the free agent signing period begins on Thursday, February 1, 2007.

Think about this, if a player signs a two or three-year deal next month, that player risks the possibility of not earning more money next year under a new collective bargaining agreement. Bottom line, I'm curious to see how many free agents will take the security of signing a multi-year contract now instead of potentially signing a bigger contract next year.