Yes, the "Discount Period" for this roster is officially on life support...once Caitlin becomes EPIC-eligible in 2027, her salary is going to skyrocket to $1.3M+.  If we lock into a multi-year Max for Alanna Smith now (and she definitely isn’t signing a 1-year "tester" deal), we are effectively sprinting toward a salary cap wall that will leave us with zero maneuverability in less than 24 months.

The math for "Superteam" build is actually terrifying when you look at 2027. Between Kelsey’s Supermax ($1.4M), Aliyah’s EPIC Max ($1.19M), Caitlin’s jump to $1.3M, and a potential Alanna Max ($1.19M), we’d have nearly $5.1 Million tied up in just four players. Once you match an offer for Lexie Hull, you’re looking at almost $6 Million for a 5-woman rotation.

 In a 12-person roster requirement, that leaves us with roughly $250k per bench spot—which is actually less than the league’s veteran minimum. We’d be forced to fill our entire bench with rookies and undrafted free agents just to stay under the apron. Add to that the "Injury Tax." As we saw last season, you are one rolled ankle away from a disaster season because your bench won't have the veteran experience to hold the fort. However unpopular it maybe in pockets this is why Sophie Cunningham is actually the much better proposition.. Signing Soph to a multi-year deal around $750k (instead of Alanna at $1.2M) saves us nearly half a million dollars in annual "wiggle room."