The WNBA is one of the fastest growing leagues in the world.

The premier women’s basketball league on the planet enjoyed a record breaking season which saw attendance, viewership and merchandise sales rocket amid the arrival of several new stars.

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However, it would be a mistake to believe that the growth of league and it’s new size is reflected in the salaries of it’s players.

For context, the highest paid NBA player for the 2024-25 season is Steph Curry who will earn $55,761,216 by the end of the campaign, this is a stark difference between the top earners in the WNBA.

Who is the highest-paid player in the WNBA?

Jackie Young has the biggest annual salary in the WNBA, her contract for 2025 will see earn $252,450.

The 27-year-old was the first overall pick by the Las Vegas Aces in the 2019 WNBA Draft

The next two are Indiana Fever’s Kelsey Mitchell and Jewell Loyd, who will earn $249,244 and $245,508 respectively .

How much do WNBA rookies get paid?

The maximum a WNBA rookie can get paid depends on where and if they are selected in the draft.

The top four picks will earn $78,831 in their first year, and can sign a maximum four-year contract worth a total of $348,198, this is the deal Paige Bueckers is expected to sign should be drafted in the top four on Monday night in New York.

That is slightly higher than the contract Caitlin Clark is on, last year she signed a four-year $338,056 deal with the Indiana Fever.

Picks five to eight can sign a maximum four-year contract worth a total of $334,115.

Who is the lowest-paid player in the WNBA?

The league-minumim salary is $66,079 for players with zero to two years of experience. In 2024, there were 19 players who entered the season playing on the league minimum.

Some salaries could be lower because they can be prorated if they aren’t on the team for a full season.

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Will WNBA contracts increase?

Yes they will and they should grow exponentially for 2026 as part of the the new collective bargaining deal that the WNBA and Women’s National Basketball Player Association are currently negotiating.

The new 11-year $2.2bn media rights deal the WNBA signed last year brings in $200 million a year and that will be the biggest driver of bigger contracts for players.

The new CBA is set to go into effect for the 2026 season but has not been agreed upon yet, WNBA star Angel Reese made headlines when she said players could sit out if negotiations fall apart.

“If y’all don’t give us what we want, we sitting out,” Reese said on her  ‘Unapologtically Angel’, while talking to fellow WNBA player Dijonai Carrington.

Reese went on to say that players ‘deserve more,’ as young All-Stars like her and rival Clark make just five-figure salaries.

Reese is on a four-year $324,383 rookie contract and is set to make just under $75,000 in 2025.

Why do NBA players earn more than WNBA players?

One of the biggest reasons is the imbalance in revenue sharing between the NBA and WNBA.

NBA players receive about a 50 percent cut of all basketball related income, but in the WNBA the players only get 10 percent, per former All-Star Chiney Ogwumike.

That is likely to form a crucial part of the negotiations for the new collective bargaining deal.

Players are already signing huge endorsement deals, while many – like Olivia Miles and Flau’Jae Johnson have opted to stay in college for one more year with NIL (Name, Image and Likeness) deals bringing in six or seven figures.

Stewart and Collier also launched the three-on-three off-season league where a host of players signing up on lucartive short-term contracts.

All this piles the pressure on the WNBA and the franchises to increase the salaries on offer for a league generating billions.