Surprise! The highest paid WNBA players ever might surprise you. The 27-year-old has the 151st-ranked salary in the league at $1,607. Who is the highest-paid WNBA player in 2023? Shes also currently a member of Team USA. Plus Skylars additional endorsements and her work as a Phoenix Suns broadcasts as analyst, altogether which weve guess-timated to be near $500,000. According to Spotrac, Jewell Loyd and Arike Ogunbowale are currently set to be the highest-paid WNBA players in the 2023 season, with each of them earning $234,936. If there is any change in the details, we will make the, available here. We believe that not only are WNBA players underpaid relative to their current league revenue, we also believe that the WNBA as a league could do much, much more to increase its revenue. Shes made our list for all the other money shes raked in beyond being a WNBA rock star. Timme is a two-time Second-Team All-American, a two-time First-Team All-WCC selection, and the 2022 WCC Player of the Year. How much a WNBA rookies makes depends on where she was drafted. She's a sensational player. [The WNBA] doesnt pay my bills playing here doesnt pay my bills We make more money overseas. And the viewership is increasing rapidly. Michael Jordan was the first NBA player to sign a contract worth over $20 million and in fact it exceeded $30 million as well in a season (1996-97) and (1997-98) where he earned $33,140,000; this was a record he had held for 20 years. Storm F Breanna Stewart: $228,094 (WNBA max salary) Contract: 1 year, $228,094 Average annual value: $228,094 Heres why: The WNBA is a 12 team league versus the NBA being a 30 team league. Stewart was the first overall pick in the 2016 WNBA Draft and was named the 2016 WNBA Rookie of the Year. He amassed 1.6 million Instagram followers, and 2.7 million TikTok followers, much from his high school basketball highlight videos going viral. To me, this says that viewers are interested in watching womens sports. Up next, check out the rest of our WNBA salary series, with the lowest paid WNBA players. Here is Spotrac.com's top 10 list of highest-paid WNBA players by average annual value. Mercury G Diana Taurasi: $228,094 (WNBA max salary) Contract: 2 years, $449,544 Average annual value: $224,772 t-1. And we added in prior overseas play. Who is the highest-paid player in the WNBA? Jackie Young of the Aces has an average annual salary of $252,450 and is currently the WNBA's highest-paid player in 2023. Women National Basketball Association is the top tier league which gave a new turn to basketball world by providing opportunity to female athletes to show their talent. The average NBA player makes about 60x as much as the average WNBA player. She signed a two year $463,030 contract last offseason, giving her an annual salary of $231,515. The minimum salary for an WNBA player with two years of service will rise from $42,728 annually to $57,000 beginning in 2020. In Dianas 17-year career, shes broken WNBA records and has attained a plethora of accolades including being a 3-time WNBA champion. To that point, Taurasis most recent contract was negotiated under the previous CBA, leaving her criminally underpaid. The lowest-paid player in the WNBA is Mercurys Kaela Davis. Breanna signed a multi-year deal with Nike in 2016. There is simply no reason that womens college basketball should bring in more money than womens professional basketball. The NCAA womens college basketball tournament has been played since the late 1970s. As are the Washington Mystics small forwardElena Delle Donne and Connecticut Sun guardDeWanna Bonner. On this Wikipedia the language links are at the top of the page across from the article title. That concerted effort bared its fruit, garnering each member of the team $100,000. One way to evaluate how well professional womens basketball players are paid is to look at how the WNBA salaries compare to the total income of the league. Sherly is third on the list of the highest paid WNBA players with 99,500$ per year. Boxers Who Died In The Ring | How Their Death Impact the Sports? That is a lot of money , especially compared to what teachers get paid. The 24-year-old guard made her first All-Star team last year after averaging 15.9 points, 4.4 rebounds and 3.9 assists. Who is the highest-paid player in the WNBA? Not only that but the maximum salary a WNBA player could earn almost doubled, from $117,500 to $215,000 in 2020, per ESPN. The highest paid WNBA player this year is a tie between Breanna Stewart, Diana Taurasi, and Jewell Lloyd each making just over $228,000 this year. Perhaps more importantly, the WNBA now has bona fide superstars to push its popularity. Picks 9-12 will earn $66,306, while second round picks will receive $63,389 in 2022. The American professional basketball player signed a worthy contract with Phoenix Mercury earning her $224,870 yearly, contributing greatly to her total net worth of $400k. Cavinder has endorsement deals with Under Armour, Raising Canes, Intuit TurboTax, and Victoria's Secret PINK. He has deals with Adidas, Campus Ink, Merchants Bank of Indiana, Turnstone Center, and Push Paddle or Pedal. Now that youre locked in, lets see the results. The highest-paid WNBA player makes 22.8 percent of what Hammon does. She primarily plays in Russia, where she earns anywhere between $400,000 $1.5 million dollars per overseas season. If you buy something from a link on our site, Queen Ballers Club may earn a commission. In 2020, the Women's National Basketball Association came to termson a new collective bargaining agreement that included significant salary bumps. Enmanuel, who was born with no left arm, is from the Dominican Republic and attends Northwestern State University. While her endorsement pay (including TV commercials) has been kept private, well take a modest estimate of $250,000. In the WNBA world, the story on everyones mind is Brittney Griners ongoing detention is Russia. Adding to her wallet, Diana also makes $20,000-$30,000 per speaking engagement. So helping everyone win higher paid overseas contracts and endorsements is actually lucrative for everyone in the long run. Why? So she will now receive $100,000 to train in the United States. Candace Parker is the first big name to join a new team in free agency. Brittney Griners ongoing detention is Russia, This is a great book detailing the history of professional Womens basketball, The Highest WNBA salary is $228,000 while in the NBA its over $45 million. Each year there are ten players selected to one of the two All-NBA Teams. Outside of Young, other names on the list of the highest-paid WNBA players include Arike Ogunbowale of the Dallas Wings, Jewell Loyd of the Seattle Storm and Phoenix Mercury guard Skylar Diggins. But if womens college basketball can come close to competing with mens college basketball during tournament time, the WNBA should be able to draw more eyes. After Delle Donne went public with her disgust at the situation, the Mystics backtracked and promised to pay her to stay home. Sue has been with Nike since 2003. And throughout her enviable career, shes been named a WNBA All-Star four times. So she pockets an additional $11,536 for that feat. In the NBA, the average salary is about $7.5 million. Here are the top 10: 1 . And shesignedon to exclusively wear LeBron Jamessignatureline on court. As well as earned All-WNBA First Team and Second Team honors. Jackie Young of the Aces has an average annual salary of $252,450 and is currently the WNBAs highest-paid player in 2023. . Bates has been compared to all time great players such as Kevin Durant and Giannis Antetokounmpo. Patrick Ewing became the first player to earn $15 million or more in the 95-96 season with a salary of $18,724,000. Absolutely, she said. In his junior season at Indiana, Wilson was named to the Big Ten All-Defensive Team and the Second-Team All-Big Ten Team. Her contract salary with the club is $224.870. And a 2021 championship with the Chicago Sky. He has deals with Dollar Shave Club, Walkers Furniture, Goli Nutrition, and Preediction. Although WNBA salaries seem low compared to other athletes, WNBA players typically play basketball year round, spending the WNBA offseason touring Europe and doubling, or sometimes tripling, their salary. Chicago Sky | F/C | 6-foot-4; 2020 stats: 14.7 PPG, 9.7 RPG, 4.6 APG; Parker's move from Los Angeles, the team that drafted her first in 2008 . In her career, she has played exceptionally well and has generated enough revenue from contracts as well as merchandise sales. As they say, acandlelosesnothingbylighting another candle. Former Mercury forward DeWanna Bonner was cored by the Mercury the league maximum of four times, so her pursuit of a new team was inevitable. She started playing in China in her rookie season. WNBAstarswho earn the most money are true international superstars who live luxurious lives on and off the court. But this line of logic is deeply flawed. Liz Cambage also endorsed Wilson basketballs as of 2021. The groundbreaking collective bargaining agreement unveiled by the WNBPA, WNBA Board of Governors, and WNBA Commissioner Cathy Engelbert in January 2020 boosted base salaries and continues to provide for extra earning opportunities for WNBA players. You might find some affiliate links on our website which are part of advertisement on this website. Who are therichest womenbasketball players? For the first few years of the league's history, it was so unpopular that the NBA had to subsidize the operating cost of their female counterpart. Bates has 501,000 followers across all social media. Three players will earn a league-high $228,094 on WNBA supermax salaries this season. Derek Brunson vs Dricus Du Plessis Purse Payouts | How Much Both Earn from Potential Bonus Money? The basketball gender pay gap is significant. The $898,700 contract Natasha Howard signed the following year ranks fourth all-time. Amari Bailey is one of the highest earning college basketball players, with an NIL value of $520,000.Bailey was a top prospect in the 2022 class. AP Photo/Ashley Landis Las Vegas Aces A'ja Wilson and Chelsea Gray ($196,267) A'ja Wilson and Chelsea Gray. Even so, that feat earned Diana another $1,803. And shes got her own media company Togethxr along with three other star athletes. Of course, athletes dont always see all their endorsement earnings in a single year, but weve included the guesstimated total amount for simplification. Three players, two of whom suit up for the same WNBA team, will earn a league-high $228,094 on supermax salaries for the upcoming season. Plus, she was named to the All-First Team so she gets $10,300. The trajectory of our organization changed the day we drafted her 17 years ago, and we are excited she will be here into the future. The deal could be the last of Taurasis career, but we can feel relieved that she is reaping some of the benefits shes worked to sow for the next generation. Three franchises will pay their top-earning player less than $200,000 for the upcoming campaign. Putting $5,150 in Skylars pocket. The ability to dunk in the WNBA pays off handsomely, which is one of the reasons why the 67 Brittney is such a valuable asset. Top 10: Who is the Best WNBA Player of All Time? Who are the highest paid WNBA players in 2022? In 2021, they hit the floor with Chicago native Candace Parker, who stands as the second-highest earner on the team at $195,000. That means that the NBA brings in about 125 times as much revenue as the WNBA. Loyd is no doubt, one of the greatest basketball player of all times. Therefore in the last section when we compared the average WNBA salary to the average NBA salary, we were comparing the salaries of the top 144 womens players to the salaries of the top 360 mens players. Meanwhile, center Griner re-signed with and was cored by Phoenix, and was able to take advantage of the new supermax rules as well. As detailed by CNBC, the average pay for a WNBA player in the season prior to the new agreement was around $116,000. In 2022, Candace will make $195,000 from her WNBA contract. Once that happens, WNBA salaries will reach the place where they should be for the entertainment value they are capable of providing. Her contract salary from the club is $228,094. Jessica Penne vs Tabatha Ricci Purse Payouts | How Much Both Earn from PPV Money at UFC 285? Since the early 2010s, WNBA teams have turned profits without resorting to subsidies. Breannas team, the Seattle Storm, won the 2020 WNBA Championship. Who is the highest paid WNBA player in the world right now? Shes also won a championship with the Los Angeles Sparks, for whom she was the first-round pick in 2008. Although the Storm enjoyed a trip to the semifinals last season, they will have a large gap to fill with the retirement of Sue Bird. With the 2022 WNBA season tipping off Friday, we took a look at the league's highest-paid players. She played for Dallas Wings from the beginning of her career before making a move to Phoenix Mercury in 2020 for which she is currently playing for. [1] LeBron James became the third in the 201617 season. She is the tallest and highest paid WNBA player. As of now, the details of her contract have not been announced. Another 11 players, seven of whom are the highest earners on their respective teams, will command $200,000 or more this year. Now, compare the average WNBA salary (128,000) versus the average NBA salary (7.5 million). How much a WNBA rookies makes depends on where she was drafted. Candace Parker Ned Dishman/NBAE via Getty Images. 1- Liz Cambage; The Highest Paid WNBA Player Liz Cambage plays in the Las Vegas Aces and is 29 years old. Stay tuned for more information! And to top it off, shes earned four Olympic gold medals which makes it easy to say that, as a basketball player, shes earned her weight in gold. In 2017 she was inducted into the Women Basketball Hall of Fame. Loyd was the first overall pick in 2015 after an illustrious career at Notre Dame, going to two national championship games. She, along with 7 other WNBA players, also has a Glossier deal. The current record-holder for most points scored in a WNBA game an astonishing 53 points! Taurasi was actually the fourth-highest earner on her team last year, and took home nearly 35% less than sixth woman Bria Hartley did. She is also signed for next season with UMMC. Ogunbowale's salary for the 2023 campaign is closest to Young's at $241,984. Hailey Van Lith is one of the highest earning college basketball players, with an NIL value of $526,000.Van Lith, who is a junior point guard at Louisville, is known as one of the best college basketball players in the nation. WNBA Highest Paid Players in 2021 Sue Bird (Seattle Storm) - $221,450 Sue Bird is one of the most recognizable names in basketball and a WNBA staple for nearly two decades. Plum had a spectacular regular season that even saw her claim the all-star game MVP this year. Or learn how salary impacts WNBA free agency. At 41 years old, Sue Bird will have been in the league for an astonishing 19 seasons and 20 years in 2022, breaking records and dazzling fans all over the world. Jay Swingler vs Nicholai Perrett Purse Payouts | How Much Both Earn from PPV Money? And its easy to see that theres a good chance Candace made close to $1.5 million dollars during her overseas reign. as well as other partner offers and accept our. Breanna Stewart, F, Seattle Storm; $228,094 3. Given those achievements, it makes perfect sense that Skylar is paid top-dollar. Considering Liz was making $117,500 in that year, a quick calculation tells us that her overseas contracts have been close to $1 million dollars a year. The Mercury made it to the second round of the playoffs in 2020, but lost to the Minnesota Lynx.