The current WNBA players are raking in dough more than their peers from the past. WNBA Stars are setting the bar when it comes to pay, paving the way for upcoming talent as the league continues to grow. L.A. Sparks star Kelsey Plum is due for an extension in negotiations to ink a $1.4 million supermax contract but is considering to decrease her pay to give the team more flexibility to bring in more talent for a championship caliber team to make a deep playoff run. Aliyah Boston secured a fat bag and signed a 4-year $6.3 million contract with the Indiana Fever right before A’ja Wilson signed a supermax deal worth $5 million over a 3-year span. Years ago, WNBA Legend Diana Taurasi made a total of $1.4 million throughout her whole career. Different time, different pay grade. Let’s also consider the fact that A’ja Wilson is the only 4x MVP in WNBA history, 3x DPOY, 2x WNBA Finals MVP, and 3x WNBA Champ, which is the reason why her contract is levels above other notable former WNBA superstars.
Wilson’s Contract in comparison to other legendary past WNBA players:
A’ja Wilson – $5,000,000
Diana Taurasi – $1,400,000
Elena Donne – $1,240,000
Candace Parker – $1,060,000
Sue Bird – $967,000
Paying Homage to Caitlin Clark for disrupting the WNBA pay scale;
Let’s be real. Big ups to Caitlin Clark with the (CC22 Effect) for putting the WNBA on her back, and back on the map. Before Clark was drafted, the WNBA only averaged 6,000 fans per game for nearly 30 years, up until “CC” was introduced to the world. Her rookie contract was a measly $76,535 compared to Nike that endorsed Clark and signed her for $28 million before she stepped foot on a basketball court as a professional. Clark has the most worn shoe in the NBA, as a female. Clark released a shoe with Nike called the Kobe 6 Protro PE. Even the NBA Legend in the making, Steph Curry rock’s Caitlin’s kicks in the game.
Put some respect on it. This woman alone brought in 24.6 million viewers to tune into the NCAA National Championship game. The following year when the Indiana Fever drafted Caitlin Clark ticket sales went up 400%, and sold out the arena in her first game as a pro in a Fever jersey. Clark was responsible for selling out the opposing team’s arenas as a visitor. Now, Indiana Fever is building a 108K Square foot, $78 million state of the art sports performance center in the heart of Indianapolis as their practice facility.
The draft had a massive 20% jump every year since 2022, excluding 2024 which is the year Caitlin Clark was brought into the WNBA:
2022: 403,000
2023: 572,000
2024: 2,450,000 (The “Caitlin Clark” Effect Year)
2025: 1,250,000
2026: 1,500,000 (The 2nd most watched draft in WNBA History)
WNBA = Money Magnet
In March, there was a tentative deal set in place for each WNBA team to increase last year’s team salary cap from $1,500,000 to $7,000,000 this upcoming season. It was the right move to make after the combination of multiple professional women’s sports organizations were able to strike a massively lucrative 11-year $2.2 billion deal establishing partnerships with Amazon Prime, NBC Universal, and Disney that will be in motion in the month of May.
What is next?
The WNBA will be expanding to Detroit, Toronto, Cleveland, and Portland in the 2026-27 season. Interesting when bigger markets such as Charlotte, Houston, and Boston were once considered and are no longer in the running for an expansion team. Either way, nothing is stopping this league which plays a significant role in the growth of women’s sports. Expect the league to expand and quadruple by 2030 if the league plays their cards right and perfects the marketing strategy set in place.
Dante Robinson | Senior WNBA Analyst for The NSR Network
