The base salary for WNBA rookies varies on when (or if) players were selected in the WNBA Draft. Stephen Curry of Golden State Warriors is currently the highest paid NBA player for 2021-22 NBA season, earning around $45.7 million U.S while Lebron James, on the 4th rank earning around $41.1 dollars for 2021-22 NBA season. Scott Rafferty is a Senior NBA Editor for The Sporting News. But currently, she plays in Russia for the UMMC Ekaterinburg team, where she continues to astound on the court. Speaking about the deal, Breanna said that its bigger than basketball, and that she hopes to have a lasting impact on her younger fans. Skylar Diggins-Smith - $221,450. Cynthia Lynne Cooper-Dyke - UB-Barca, CREFF. For the first few years of the leagues history, it was so unpopular that the NBA had to subsidize the operating cost of their female counterpart. Basketball icon Sue Bird, who plays for the Storm in what is her last season before retiring, is making the same amount as thats also the leagues veteran minimum salary. The duo of Stewart and Loyd have earned their spots not only as some of the top players in the W, but they are both tied for the number two spot in the list of top WNBA earners at $228,094. However, in recent years the popularity of the WNBA is skyrocketing. In 2017 she was inducted into the Women Basketball Hall of Fame. Who is the highest-paid WNBA player in 2023? Check out all the highest paid WNBA players below, and come back when new WNBA starssign newcontracts to see how their salaries stack up! The Larry Bird exception, more commonly known as Bird Rights, allows teams to re-sign a current player only if he has played for that particular team for a minimum of three years. The NCAA womens college basketball tournament has been played since the late 1970s. And before the first games tip off on Friday, Insider took a look at the league's highest-paid players on each team based on Spotrac's salary figures. In 2021, she signed a new contract with the Vegas Aces on a one-year agreement of $221,450. From my perspective, the gender pay gap in basketball is attributable to the WNBA being a new league and not achieving the viewership it is capable of. In 2020, she let the league know she was back in business after her achilles injury. She has 1 million followers on Instagram, 465,000 on TikTok, and 77,000 on Twitter.She is expected to be a top pick in the WNBA Draft, whenever she declares. A top-WNBA scorer, Skylar has been shooting hoops in the league since 2013. This means that not only is the average WNBA salary lower than it should be, the top tier female athletes are underpaid! Highest Paid WNBA Players 5 - Skylar Diggins Smith 4 - DeWanna Bonner 3 - Elena Delle Donne 2 - Breanna Stewart 1 - Jewell Loyd Top 10 Highest Paid WNBA Players 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. Jessica Penne vs Tabatha Ricci Purse Payouts | How Much Both Earn from PPV Money at UFC 285? 20 Highest Paid WNBA Players 1. For the 2021-2022 NBA season, the NBA's rookie minimum sat at $925,000 just about four times the average annual salary of the WNBA's highest-paid player. Hansel Enmanuel is the highest-earning college basketball player with an NIL value of $1.5 million. She was named the WNBA MVP in 2018 and was named. In 2022, Breanna Stewart will earn a base salary of$228,094. Highest-paid active WNBA players. Shes signed contracts with Gatorade, Adidas, and Beats by Dre, Band-Aid, Capital One, and CarMax, among others. Thus, looking at average salaries biases the argument in favor of the men! Who Is The Most Famous Athlete In The World Right Now. In her career, she has played exceptionally well and has generated enough revenue from contracts as well as merchandise sales. And shesignedon to exclusively wear LeBron Jamessignatureline on court. A recent New York Times article talks about how Paige Bueckers is waiting to go pro because there is more money in college basketball than in womens professional basketball. Sue is one of the few WNBA stars who have endorsement deals. As they say, acandlelosesnothingbylighting another candle. [The WNBA] doesnt pay my bills playing here doesnt pay my bills We make more money overseas. The WNBA may be a league on the rise, but its players pay is low. 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. This means in the NBA, the best paid player makes about six and a half times as much as the average player. She is playing as Shooting guard for Seattle Storm. Hansel Enmanuel is the highest earning college basketball player with an NIL value of $1.5 million. 2023 Salary: $234,350. The Liberties young star point guard Sabrina Ionescu is slated to make $76,297 this upcoming season. 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. Absolutely, she said. Most recently, her impact was big enough on and off the court to net her Sports Illustrateds Sportsperson of the Year. The 65 point guard is expected to be a future first round NBA Draft pick. 4. Bates was dismissed from Memphis following legal troubles and now finds himself at Eastern Michigan. Because after the NBAs Kyrie Irving saw her wearing his shoes, he told Nike, Okay, yeah, give her whatever she wants. So, well factor in another $2,000,000 into her income for good measure! In 2021, the star signed a multiyear shoe deal with Puma that guarantees her the creation and release of her own signature sneaker. Obviously, shes worth every penny of her (too small) WNBA income and then some! By looking at viewership for womens college basketball, we argue that the revenue gap between the WNBA and the NBA can be closed. Through a sign-and-trade deal between Phoenix and Dallas (for whom she was a designated core player), point guard Diggins-Smith was able to sign a four-year supermax contract with the Mercury in February 2020. Hansel Enmanuel is the highest-earning college basketball player with an NIL value of $1.5 million.Enmanuel, who was born with no left arm, is from the Dominican Republic and attends Northwestern State University.He amassed 1.6 million Instagram followers, and 2.7 million TikTok followers, much from his high school basketball highlight videos going viral.Fans across the world were inspired by Enmanuels story as well as his ridiculous athletic ability. She recently starred in some CarMax commercials. Jackie Young of the Aces has an average annual salary of $252,450 and is currently the WNBA's highest-paid player in 2023. This will lead to an increase in the average WNBA salary. The Phoenix Mercury point guard also earned the title of having the most All-WNBA First Team honors a total of 10! Maybe they should play one on one? The Las Vegas Aces big three of Chelsea Gray, A'ja Wilson, and Kelsey Plum all sit somewhere in the top 30 WNBA players salary list, and for good reason. The 68 center for the Los Angeles Sparks has been selected to the All-Star team three times. Stewart is currently having an expensive contract deal with Seattle Storm. In spite of the Suns disappointing loss in the WNBA Finals, Bonner enjoyed an efficient postseason that saw her come up clutch in the semifinals against the Chicago Sky. Who Are the Highest-Paid College Basketball Players Right Now. Winner gets $1 to break the tie. Knocked out in the second round of the playoffs, the Phoenix Mercury, Skylars current team, earned her a team bonus of $1,803. Another big name to move in free agency was Breanna Stewart. And approximate what some of them might have made during a peak playing year. That means that the NBA brings in about 125 times as much revenue as the WNBA. Opponents to increasing the WNBA player salaries at this point will say you cant just adjust a 12-team league to a 30-team league and assume that the numbers will work themselves out! This is an interesting point but in the next section we argue the exact opposite. Mercury G Diana Taurasi: $228,094 (WNBA max salary) Contract: 2 years, $449,544 Average annual value: $224,772 t-1. In 2021, they hit the floor with Chicago native Candace Parker, who stands as the second-highest earner on the team at $195,000. Out of those ten players chosen that year, Kobe Bryant was the only player that was also among the game's ten highest-paid during the 201011 NBA season.[6]. To supplement her WNBA income, Sue has played overseas during the WNBA off-season for much of her storied career. Womens sports events have demonstrated their mass-market appeal, and thus monetary potential, on multiple occasionsIn sports where mens and womens games have relatively equal marketing support, their commercial impact has been roughly equivalent. And wed like to see as much of that money as possible go into our players pockets. Delle Donnes highly anticipated return to competition has the W community on the edge of their seatsas the star forward has been sidelined for nearly two years now. 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. Parker was an All-Star at age 36 last year after posting averages of 13.2 points, 8.6 rebounds and 4.5 assists across 32 games. In professional leagues as we stated above that number was 120 times. What is the league average of salaries in the WNBA? Since Sues team, the Seattle Storm, won the 2020 WNBA Championship, each player pockets an additional $11,536 for that feat. The salary cap, which is regarded as a hard cap, stands at $1,339,000; this amount of money is distributed among 11 or 12 players on each of 12 rosters. While Jackie Young is the WNBA's highest-paid player right now, she might be forced to relinquish that title soon. Hanna Cavinder is the highest earning womens NCAA basketball player, with an NIL value of $846,000.Cavinder is a senior point guard at the University of Miami.She has amassed 4.7 million followers across all social media, making her the most followed college basketball athlete.Her 4.2 million TikTok followers makes her one of the most popular college athletes in the United States. 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. Your login session has expired. And add that to her bank. often in parts of the world that many Americans would not want to visit themselves. Borderline unstoppable in this years playoffs, Gray helped the Aces win their first WNBA title en route to her first WNBA Finals MVP. The WNBA's minimum for a player with zero to two years of experience is $58,710, while vets with three or more years of experience earn a minimum of $70,040. In recent years, the popularity of the league has been increasing dramatically. Adding to her wallet, Diana also makes $20,000-$30,000 per speaking engagement. On this Wikipedia the language links are at the top of the page across from the article title. The second highest earner on the Aces is two-time league MVP A'ja Wilson. In this list we examine the top 10 highest paid college basketball players as of February 2023. [1] LeBron James became the third in the 201617 season. Im with Roc Nation, where Im the only woman signed. We have three points and reasons why we think the average WNBA salary and the league revenue as a whole is set to explode. Earning a spot on Team USA, shes reaped another $100,000 during the WNBA off-season. So she will now receive close to $100,000 to train for United States. The LA Sparks, who lost superstars Parker and Gray in the offseason, will pay Kristi Toliver andWNBPA President Nneka Ogwumike max salaries of $190,550 each this year. She is proficient at getting to her spot and knocking down jumpers at the most crucial moments. This is not dissimilar to the history of the NBA, just many years later. While it's still unknown what their new deals will look like, Parker or Stewart could join the ranks of the highest-paid players. WNBA Salary Rankings Listing the top salaries, cap hits, cash, earnings, contracts, and bonuses, for all active WNBA players. In 2021, her Las Vegas Aces salary was $221,450. The average WNBA salary is $128,000 in the 2021 season. Enmanuel famously has commercials with both Gatorade, and J. Coles Puma collaboration named Dreamer.. Speaking engagements net current WNBA players anywhere between $10,000 $50,000, plus Liz is a DJ! Phoenix Mercuryteammates Skylar Diggins-Smithand Brittany Grinerarenot far behind on therichest woman basketballplayers list. The ratio of the highest paid WNBA player to the 144th best paid WNBA player is about 3.8. But this line of logic is deeply flawed. Im ready to have next summer off and focus on getting a European contract where [its] 10 seasons here worth the pay. We may earn some commission if you were to buy something via our affiliate links, Top 10 Most Selling Football Boots In The World | Nike Mercurial Vapor Tops The List As Used By Ronaldo, Mbappe & Neymar, Top 10 Most Expensive Injuries In Football, The Best Apps/Websites to Watch MF & DAZN X Series 005 Live Online | 5 March 2023, The Best Apps/Websites To Watch Jay Swingler vs Nicholai Perrett Live Online | 5 March 2023. Young is set to make $252,450 this season.. Due to injuries and other factors, Sue hasnt played overseas since 2014. The highest paid WNBA players ever might surprise you. 2021 WNBA Finals MVP Kahleah Copper sits at the top of the Sky's salary cap, earning $200,000 annually. Shes a American small forward for Washington Mystics in WNBA, joining the team in 2017. Shes a 7-time blocks leader, and has won a championship with her team, the Phoenix Mercury. The Best Apps/Websites to Watch Figueroa vs Magsayo Live Online Free | 4 March 2023, Best Apps/Websites to Watch Jon Jones vs Ciryl Gane Live Online Free In UFC 285, The Best Websites/Apps to Watch UFC 285 Live Online For Free. The Mercury secured a playoff spot but was knocked out during the 2nd round. However, shes often been very vocal about the low pay for WNBA players. Next on the list of the highest paid WNBA player in the world is DeWanna Bonner. Where she made 10-20 times more than her WNBA salary! If there is any change in the details, we will make the, available here. She is one of only 11 women to attain all four accolades. With all these ancillary ways to make money, Dianas WNBA salary is just a drop in the bucket! Image credit: (Photo by Ned Dishman/NBAE via Getty Images). Glancing over at the highest-paid players in the NBA reveals that Golden State Warriors star Stephen Curry has the richest annual salary at a little north of $48 million. With new coaches, a stacked rookie class, and an abundance of superstars across the league's 12 teams, the WNBA's 26th season is poised to be one of the most exciting yet. Loyd was the first overall pick in 2015 after an illustrious career at Notre Dame, going to two national championship games. The Washington Mystics have promised her full salary despite the WNBA not awarding her a medical exemption for the season. Breannas team, the Seattle Storm, won the 2020 WNBA Championship. Brandon Figueroa vs Mark Magsayo Purse Payouts | How Much Both Fighters Will Earn from PPV Fight? Even so, that feat earned Diana another $1,803. According to Spotrac, DeWanna Bonner, Elena Delle Donne and Skylar Diggins-Smith, each signed the richest contract in WNBA history in 2020, worth $899,480 over four years. Heres everything you need to know about salaries in the WNBA (all numbers via Spotrac): In terms of base salaries, three athletes are tied for the highest-paid player in the WNBA: Seattle Storm stars Jewell Loyd and Breanna Stewart and Phoenix Mercury icon Diana Taurasi. She signed a two year $463,030 contract last offseason, giving her an annual salary of $231,515. As we dive into the salaries of WNBA players, however, the difference is stark. 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. 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. 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. The lowest-paid player in the WNBA is Mercury's Kaela Davis. Its big-time, lets just say that, Brittney told USA Today in 2013. We did not include revenue sharing in our calculations, which jumped from the current 20 percent to 50 percent in 2021 per the recent CBA, assuming the stipulations were met. Three players will earn a league-high $228,094 on WNBA supermax salaries this season. See the highest and lowest player salaries in the NBA on ESPN.com. The lowest paid player for the Los Angeles Clippers in the 2020-21 NBA season is Daniel Oturu who will be paid a guaranteed $898,310. An exception is necessary to sign a player for a contract that would exceed the salary cap threshold of the "soft cap".