Seems like the top spots are dominated by the Connecticut Suns and Seattle Storm huh? WNBA Salary Rankings | Spotrac 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. And its easy to see that theres a good chance Candace made close to $1.5 million dollars during her overseas reign. 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. In 2017 she was inducted into the Women Basketball Hall of Fame. Adding to her wallet, Diana also makes $20,000-$30,000 per speaking engagement. While Jackie Young is the WNBA's highest-paid player right now, she might be forced to relinquish that title soon. By looking at viewership for womens college basketball, we argue that the revenue gap between the WNBA and the NBA can be closed. 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. Not only that but the maximum salary a WNBA player could earn almost doubled, from $117,500 to $215,000 in 2020, per ESPN. In the WNBA world, the story on everyones mind is Brittney Griners ongoing detention is Russia. This alone should be enough to argue for higher average WNBA salaries than the status quo, but we have two more points still to convince you further. She pulls in almost $1 million per season abroad, which far outweighs her top-dollar WNBA salary. Plus Skylars additional endorsements and her work as a Phoenix Suns broadcasts as analyst, altogether which weve guess-timated to be near $500,000. Previously, she played for Shanghai Baoshun Dahua in Chinas WCBA since the 2016-17 season. An exception is necessary to sign a player for a contract that would exceed the salary cap threshold of the "soft cap". Once that happens, WNBA salaries will reach the place where they should be for the entertainment value they are capable of providing. Basketball icon, WNBA salaries: Who has the highest, league average, more. 20 Highest Paid WNBA Players | 2022 - Job Finder Eight players . Patrick Ewing became the first player to earn $15 million or more in the 95-96 season with a salary of $18,724,000. A 12 team league cant possibly bring in the same revenue as a 30-team league. The Highest Paid WNBA Players - Gazette Review In 2020, she let the league know she was back in business after her achilles injury. 20 Highest Paid WNBA Players 1. Data provided by HighPostHoops.com 2023 Cap Hit Rankings Trending Players view 1 Kelsey Plum (G, LV) view 2 Sabrina Ionescu (G, NY) view 3 Jackie Young (G, LV) view 4 Arella Guirantes (G, SEA) view 5 Brittney Griner (C, PHX) However, shes often been very vocal about the low pay for WNBA players. In February 2020, Sue Bird told Howard Megdal, money has really never been the motivator in the WNBA. In equal parts, Bird enlightens the privilege of having a spot in such an incredibly competitive league and points out that the CBAs new salary structure marks a historic turning point for the WNBA. As we dive into the salaries of WNBA players, however, the difference is stark. But its less clear how our women stack up against each other. There is simply no reason that womens college basketball should bring in more money than womens professional basketball. And we added in prior overseas play. 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! Now, because the average WNBA player makes 56 times as much as NBA players, the pay gap becomes clearer. 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. If you buy something from a link on our site, Queen Ballers Club may earn a commission. Who is the highest paid WNBA player? Jewell Loyd leads top 10 list Why Liz Cambage has a point about Becky Hammon and the WNBA's pay Shes a American small forward for Washington Mystics in WNBA, joining the team in 2017. She's a sensational player. So she pockets an additional $11,536 for that feat. often in parts of the world that many Americans would not want to visit themselves. Putting $5,150 in Skylars pocket. Of course, athletes dont always see all their endorsement earnings in a single year, but weve included the guesstimated total amount for simplification. 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. [The WNBA] doesnt pay my bills playing here doesnt pay my bills We make more money overseas. 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. Which earned Brittney another $1,803 dollars in bonus cash. 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. For picks No. Enmanuel, who was born with no left arm, is from the Dominican Republic and attends Northwestern State University. [5] Finally, the rookie player exception allows any NBA team to sign their first-round draft pick to a contract based upon a scale previously set forth by the NBA. 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. In this list we examine the top 10 highest paid college basketball players as of February 2023. Earlier, we pointed out that the WNBA is a young league. During her enviable pro career thus far, Brittney has been a 6-time WNBA All-Star. She was drafted first overall in the 2015 WNBA draft by the Seattle Storm. And shes only been in the league seven years! Access your favorite topics in a personalized feed while you're on the go. So its no mystery why shes one of the leagues top earners. Mercury G Diana Taurasi: $228,094 (WNBA max salary) Contract: 2 years, $449,544 Average annual value: $224,772 t-1. The professional game is of an indisputably higher quality than the college game. Who is the highest-paid WNBA player as of February 2023? She is currently recovering from a torn ACL. 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. It isnt the WNBAs fault necessarily; networks are wary of showing and advertising for games they think will be less profitable. Jessica Penne vs Tabatha Ricci Purse Payouts | How Much Both Earn from PPV Money at UFC 285? Rookie Road may earn a commission when you buy through links on our site. The highest paid WNBA players are certainly not paid enough. Below are the WNBA players who are paid the highest. Last season Loyd averaged 17.9 points, 3.8 assists, and 1.4 steals, earning her All-WNBA First team honors. They are two All-Star-level talents that can turn whatever team they're on into a contender. In 2020, the Women's National Basketball Association came to termson a new collective bargaining agreement that included significant salary bumps. Shes also won a championship with the Los Angeles Sparks, for whom she was the first-round pick in 2008. 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. True W fans know that Elena Delle Donne has been one of the top earners in the W for a hot minute, and it's well deserved. Cavinder has endorsement deals with Under Armour, Raising Canes, Intuit TurboTax, and Victoria's Secret PINK. Young is set to make $252,450 this season.. 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. Magic Johnson became the first player to earn $10 million or more in the 94-95 season with a salary of $14,660,000. However, the NBA uses a "soft" salary cap, which means that significant "salary exceptions" allow NBA teams to exceed their allotted amount in order to sign players. Max and supermax players now receive annual 3 percent salary bumps, and by 2027, the salary cap will have grown incrementally by nearly $300,000. The Washington Mystics have promised her full salary despite the WNBA not awarding her a medical exemption for the season. Heres why: The WNBA is a 12 team league versus the NBA being a 30 team league. List of highest paid Major League Baseball players, "Kobe Bryant to Become NBA's Second Ever $30-Million Player", "The NBA's 25 highest-paid players for the 2016-17 season", https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Highest-paid_NBA_players_by_season&oldid=1142898961, National Basketball Association statistical leaders, Employee compensation in the United States, Short description with empty Wikidata description, Wikipedia pages semi-protected against vandalism, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License 3.0, This page was last edited on 4 March 2023, at 22:55. The minimum salary for an WNBA player with two years of service will rise from $42,728 annually to $57,000 beginning in 2020. Shes also currently a member of Team USA. While it's still unknown what their new deals will look like, Parker or Stewart could join the ranks of the highest-paid players. So that she wouldnt get injured and not be able to play for UMMC. Not only did she win regular season MVP and Defensive Player of the Year, but her team won the Commissioners Cup and the WNBA Finals. After Delle Donne went public with her disgust at the situation, the Mystics backtracked and promised to pay her to stay home.