Check out the highest-paid player on each WNBA team for the 2022 campaign below: Top editors give you the stories you want delivered right to your inbox each weekday. Some athletes have performed magnificently and managed signing ludicrous contracts. Image credit: (Photo by Ned Dishman/NBAE via Getty Images). 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. Who is the highest-paid WNBA player in 2023? The ratio of the highest paid WNBA player to the 144th best paid WNBA player is about 3.8. 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. Eight players, including Davis, have salaries less than $10,000. WNBA Highest Paid Players in 2020 DeWanna Bonner (Connecticut Sun) - $215,000. Mercury G Diana Taurasi: $228,094 (WNBA max salary) Contract: 2 years, $449,544 Average annual value: $224,772 t-1. Or learn how salary impacts WNBA free agency. 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. . often in parts of the world that many Americans would not want to visit themselves. Liz Cambage also endorsed Wilson basketballs as of 2021. 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. In this article well list a few reasons and statistics why we think the average WNBA salary is lower than it should be. 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. Candace Parker Ned Dishman/NBAE via Getty Images. She is also signed for next season with UMMC. Highest-paid active WNBA players. Candace also has a lucrative contract as an NBA analyst for Turner Sports. To the confusion of CBA novices, eighth-year players Brittney Griner and Skylar Diggins-Smith both out-earned teammate and resident GOAT Diana Taurasi in 2020 by nearly $100,000. Diana Taurasi - 228.094 dollars. Not surprisingly, Sue Bird made the salary cap of $221,450 in 2021. The highest paid WNBA player in 2022 is every hooper making the $228,094 supermax which includes Diana Taurasi, Breanna Stewart, and Jewell Loyd. If there is any change in the details, we will make the, available here. Up next, check out the rest of our WNBA salary series, with the lowest paid WNBA players. Each player is making the supermax salary of $228,094. The NCAA womens college basketball tournament has been played since the late 1970s. Russell Westbrook, who opted into the final year of his contract for next season, is the highest-paid Laker over both LeBron James and Anthony Davis for next season. Loyd is pocketing the contract salary of $231,515 whereas the endorsements have increased the net worth up to $2.1 million. In 2022, shell make $227,900 from her Phoenix Mercury contract. Previously, she played for Shanghai Baoshun Dahua in Chinas WCBA since the 2016-17 season. While the revenue versus player income statistics in the last sections were compelling in and of themselves, our silver bullet in arguing that WNBA players are due for a larger payday is looking at potential league revenue. But this line of logic is deeply flawed. Overall, the average annual salaries in the NBA are much higher than in the WNBA. Larry Bird was the first player to earn $5 million or more with a salary of $7,070,000 in the 1991-92 season. In 2021, her Las Vegas Aces salary was $221,450. AP Photo/Ashley Landis Las Vegas Aces A'ja Wilson and Chelsea Gray ($196,267) A'ja Wilson and Chelsea Gray. Candaces bread and butter come from her lucrative endorsement deals, which reportedly net her a whopping $3 million dollars! 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. Plum had a spectacular regular season that even saw her claim the all-star game MVP this year. If you buy something from a link on our site, Queen Ballers Club may earn a commission. Like, Im a millionaire because of it. So we can average out the 11 seasons she did play in Russia at a modest $1,000,000. The lowest-paid player in the WNBA is Mercurys Kaela Davis. And throughout her enviable career, shes been named a WNBA All-Star four times. Emoni Bates is one of the highest earning college basketball players, with an NIL value of $657,000.Bates is a 610 small forward and was the fifth best player in the recruiting class of 2021.Bates originally committed to Michigan State, then rescinded his commitment to attend Memphis. 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. Shes been named league MVP twice, has been an All-Star 5 times, including being named the All-Star MVP in 2013. Bueckers has endorsement deals with Crocs, Nerf, Bose, Gatorade, and StockX. Who Is The Most Famous Athlete In The World Right Now. Three franchises the Dallas Wings, Los Angeles Sparks, and Las Vegas Aces do not have a single player taking home $200,000 or more this season. The women's basketball players who make the most money are typically the best players in the game. Elena. While Jackie Young is the WNBA's highest-paid player right now, she might be forced to relinquish that title soon. And shesignedon to exclusively wear LeBron Jamessignatureline on court. She has been with the Dream since she first entered the league in 2o12 after being selected 14th overall in the draft. Candace Parker is the first big name to join a new team in free agency. And shes only been in the league seven years! And approximate what some of them might have made during a peak playing year. Since Sues team, the Seattle Storm, won the 2020 WNBA Championship, each player pockets an additional $11,536 for that feat. In fact, Deloitte predicts elite womens sport revenues could top almost a billion dollars next year. , heres a breakdown of how much rookies drafted in 2022 made this season: According to Spotrac, Rhyne Howard, NaLyssa Smith, Shakira Austin and Emily Engstler, the top four picks in 2022, all have salaries of $72,141. And the viewership is increasing rapidly. Access your favorite topics in a personalized feed while you're on the go. In Dallas, guard Allisha Gray ($164,800) will be the top earner on a youthful Wings team set to be held down by its burgeoning superstarsArike Ogunbowale ($72,141) and Satou Sabally ($76,297) will have to wait until at least 2023 for the substantial pay rises they deserve. Over in Minnesota, Kayla McBride and Aerial Powersshocking Lynx acquisitions in a whirlwind period of free agencywill each receive max salaries of $190,550, out-earning new teammate and former MVP Sylvia Fowles ($117,894). 2021 WNBA Finals MVP Kahleah Copper sits at the top of the Sky's salary cap, earning $200,000 annually. The WNBA may be following a similar trajectory. It's a large turn from Major League Baseball, where its top player, Max Scherzer makes roughly 10 times more than the. Wilson's 2022 campaign will go down as arguably the most dominant season in WNBA history. All these are the details about the top 10 highest paid WNBA players along with their contract salary and net worth. Yahoo! That means that the NBA brings in about 125 times as much revenue as the WNBA. Im ready to have next summer off and focus on getting a European contract where [its] 10 seasons here worth the pay. Shaqir ONeal is one of the highest earning college basketball players with an NIL value of $1.1 million.Son of legendary NBA center, Shaquille ONeal, Shaqir is a freshman at Texas Southern University. Magic Johnson became the first player to earn $10 million or more in the 94-95 season with a salary of $14,660,000. Duke Blue Devils vs UNC Tar Heels College Basketball Rivalry. Data provided by HighPostHoops.com 2023 Average Rankings The professional game is of an indisputably higher quality than the college game. Who is the highest-paid WNBA player in 2023? 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! Please logout and login again. In 2020, the leagues, Heres everything you need to know about salaries in the WNBA (all numbers via. Some of the WNBA's biggest stars are currently free agents in search of new contracts, including Breanna Stewart andCourtney Vandersloot. Ogunbowale's salary for the 2023 campaign is closest to Young's at $241,984. The 27-year-old has the 151st-ranked salary in the league at $1,607. Now, because the average WNBA player makes 56 times as much as NBA players, the pay gap becomes clearer. its no wonder why Liz Cambages earnings ar eup there. Basketball icon, WNBA salaries: Who has the highest, league average, more. See the highest and lowest player salaries in the NBA on ESPN.com. Seems like the top spots are dominated by the Connecticut Suns and Seattle Storm huh? This season, Bonner will earn $221,450. Beginning in the 198485 NBA season, the NBA's first salary cap was introduced. NBA players get paid more because their league makes more money, full stop. Diggins was drafted third overall by the Tulsa Shock in the 2013 WNBA draft. Maybe they should play one on one? Which earned Brittney another $1,803 dollars in bonus cash. Brandon Figueroa vs Mark Magsayo Purse Payouts | How Much Both Fighters Will Earn from PPV Fight? Highest-paid WNBA Players of 2022 by Total Salary Dollar figures via Spotrac based on a 2022 salary cap of $1,379,170. Copyright 2023 Sporting News Holdings Limited. While it's still unknown what their new deals will look like, Parker or Stewart could join the ranks of the highest-paid players. [The WNBA] doesnt pay my bills playing here doesnt pay my bills We make more money overseas. 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. And I take my off-season and use it to explore other opportunitieslike my basketball camps. And Jay Zs company has boded well for Skylar. 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. Enmanuel famously has commercials with both Gatorade, and J. Coles Puma collaboration named Dreamer.. 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. She played college basketball at Notre Dame. 1-4 in the 2022 WNBA Draft, the base salary is expected to be $72,141 in year one. Astonishing fact: Despite making our list of the highest paid WNBA players, Skylar has never lined her pockets by playing overseas! The Phoenix Mercury boast three supermax playersand yes, one of them, at long last, is Diana Taurasi. Top 10 highest paid players in the WNBA. The two-time champion is leaving the Seattle Storm after six seasons to play for the New York Liberty. Well give a quick synopsis of the economic perspective here. And has never come off the bench! A teacher makes approximately $35,000-$55,000 yearly. Borderline unstoppable in this years playoffs, Gray helped the Aces win their first WNBA title en route to her first WNBA Finals MVP. Shes racked up quite a resume. But its less clear how our women stack up against each other. Check out all the highest paid WNBA players below, and come back when new WNBA starssign newcontracts to see how their salaries stack up! It isnt a surprise nor is it controversial that mens professional sports draw more attention and revenue and therefore the players are paid more. But we can assume its a good amount. However, we think the discrepancy is larger than it should be based on viewership and appetite for womens professional sports. Breanna Stewart, F, Seattle Storm; $228,094 3. She signed a two year $463,030 contract last offseason, giving her an annual salary of $231,515. 1- Liz Cambage; The Highest Paid WNBA Player Liz Cambage plays in the Las Vegas Aces and is 29 years old. Jessica Penne vs Tabatha Ricci Purse Payouts | How Much Both Earn from PPV Money at UFC 285? Surprise! Get ready for the 2023 WNBA season: Save 23% on your subscription! Shes part of Carmelo Anthonys basketball video lessons program, and she was the first woman on the cover of NBA 2K. Phoenix Mercury guard Diana Taurasi, Seattle Storm guard Jewell Loyd and Seattle forward Breanna Stewart are the highest-paid players in the WNBA,. The WNBA may be a league on the rise, but its players pay is low. We all know theres a gargantuan salary gap between NBA and WNBA team players. 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. Here is Spotrac.com's top 10 list of highest-paid WNBA players by average annual value. High consumption of womens college basketball indicates that there is an appetite for increased consumption of womens professional basketball. 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]. The highest-paid NBA players by season has recently eclipsed $40 million. WNBAstarswho earn the most money are true international superstars who live luxurious lives on and off the court. She is one of only 11 women to attain all four accolades. With the 2022 WNBA season tipping off Friday, we took a look at the league's highest-paid players. According to. This will lead to an increase in the average 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. 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. [1] LeBron James became the third in the 201617 season. Storm F Breanna Stewart: $228,094 (WNBA max salary) Contract: 1 year, $228,094 Average annual value: $228,094 In this list we examine the top 10 highest paid college basketball players as of February 2023. She continues to break records both offensively and defensively. Elena Delle Donne - 227,900 dollars. The $898,700 contract Natasha Howard signed the following year ranks fourth all-time. Young was the Aces' first overall pick in 2019 and has been critical for the reigning WNBA champions. Who is the highest-paid player in the WNBA? 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. Cynthia Lynne Cooper-Dyke - UB-Barca, CREFF. 1. A multi-year deal means big bucks and a big bet, so lets add in another $1 million for her sponsorship. Shes signed contracts with Gatorade, Adidas, and Beats by Dre, Band-Aid, Capital One, and CarMax, among others. To that point, Taurasis most recent contract was negotiated under the previous CBA, leaving her criminally underpaid. Boxers Who Died In The Ring | How Their Death Impact the Sports? 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. Another option for teams would be to assign players to a league-assigned minimum salary contract for a maximum of two years. Elena Delle Donne is making around $224,870 this year from contract salaries. Where she made 10-20 times more than her WNBA salary! The 27-year-old has the 151st-ranked salary in the league at $1,607. Speaking engagements net current WNBA players anywhere between $10,000 $50,000, plus Liz is a DJ! WNBA teams can talk to free agents starting on Jan. 21. She was drafted by Phoenix first overall in the 2004 WNBA draft. As detailed by CNBC, the average pay for a WNBA player in the season prior to the new agreement was around $116,000. Breanna signed a multi-year deal with Nike in 2016. During her enviable pro career thus far, Brittney has been a 6-time WNBA All-Star. In addition to their WNBA yearly salaries, there are other variables in the equation: endorsement deals, overseas contracts, and merit bonuses awarded to each player based on their individual and team achievements. That means the highest paid WNBA players only make about 1.8 times as much as the average WNBA salary. She scored again by being selected to the 2020 All-WNBA Second Team, adding a bonus of $5,150 to her pay. She is playing as Shooting guard for Seattle Storm. Which Colleges Have Had The Most NBA Players? You might find some affiliate links on our website which are part of advertisement on this website. Check out the highest-paid player on each WNBA team for the 2022 campaign below: Dallas Wings Moriah Jefferson ($180,200) Moriah Jefferson. How much a WNBA rookies makes depends on where she was drafted. Who are therichest womenbasketball players? The minimum salary for an WNBA player with two years of service will rise from $42,728 annually to $57,000 beginning in 2020. Top 10: Who is the Best WNBA Player of All Time? 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. 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. She recently starred in some CarMax commercials. The minimum NBA salary is just over $1 million per year while the highest paid WNBA player in the current season is around $230,000. 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. Also, there was no 2020 All-Star game, which wouldve netted players chosen a bonus of $2,575. Jewell Loyd - 228,094 dollars. How Much Does A College Basketball Coach Make? When that happens, the average WNBA salary will be more representative of the quality of the players in the W. Enter your email address to subscribe to this blog and receive notifications of new posts by email. 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. The WNBA is on the precipice of a sharp inflection point where the total league revenue will explode and the average WNBA salary can finally increase to where it should be. Patrick Ewing became the first player to earn $15 million or more in the 95-96 season with a salary of $18,724,000. Shes also currently a member of Team USA. She was also the first openly gay athlete to sign with the company, which garnered her a lot of attention. All-star guard Jewell Loyd became the highest paid WNBA player after resigning with the Seattle Storm before last season. The American-Macedonian professional player is playing as a shooting guard for the Connecticut Sun in Womens National Basketball Association. 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. The average mens tournament game averaged 10.7 million viewers per game. Becky Hammon, Aja Wilson, Breanna Stewart, Brittney Griner and soon Paige Bueckers are on the precipice of becoming household names, of entering the zeitgeist of sports. The salary cap is determined during the offseason, but as stated earlier, it is liable to change.[2]. Bates has 501,000 followers across all social media. In 2022, the highest paid WNBA players are Breanna Stewart, DeWanna Bonner, Jewell Loyd, Elena Delle Donne, Skylar Diggins-Smith, Brittney Griner, and Diana Taurasi. 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) They are Diana Taurasi, Breanna Stewart, and Jewell Loyd. That concerted effort bared its fruit, garnering each member of the team $100,000. If the leagues popularity continues to increase as it is, the average WNBA salary will follow suit. 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. She has helped the Storm win two championships, with the most recent coming in the 2020 'wubble'. WNBA stars also earn lucrative endorsement deals worth millions per year off the court. DeWanna Bonner comes fourth at $227,900. She signed a two year $463,030 contract last offseason, giving her an annual salary of $231,515. In 2021, the star signed a multiyear shoe deal with Puma that guarantees her the creation and release of her own signature sneaker. Elsewhere around the league, star players are enjoying new lucrative contracts. With the 2021 WNBA season tipping off Friday, we took a look at the league's highest-paid players. This means that not only is the average WNBA salary lower than it should be, the top tier female athletes are underpaid! She was drafted first overall in the 2015 WNBA draft by the Seattle Storm. She has 1.2 million followers across all platforms.Johnson has endorsement deals with HighlightHER, Puma, Meta, Taco Bell, and POWERHANDZ.Johnson is also a rapper who announced her commitment to LSU in her own song. Since the early 2010s, WNBA teams have turned profits without resorting to subsidies. Thus, looking at average salaries biases the argument in favor of the men! Hansel Enmanuel is the highest earning college basketball player with an NIL value of $1.5 million. 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. 4. Brittney is a powerhouse when it comes to overseas play and shes compensated pretty well for it. Stewart was the first overall pick in the 2016 WNBA Draft and was named the 2016 WNBA Rookie of the Year. Three franchises will pay their top-earning player less than $200,000 for the upcoming campaign. Zach Edey, a center for the Purdue Boilermakers, is another of the highest-earning college basketball players, with an NIL value of $811,000.Edey, a junior, currently has 28,000 followers on Instagram, 325 on TikTok, and 6,300 on Twitter.Edey currently has NIL deals with Purdue, who have released merchandise with his number and made him a member of the Boilermaker Alliance, but he does not have any other current NIL deals. Our overall argument is not only that today, right now WNBA players should be paid more. In his junior season at Indiana, Wilson was named to the Big Ten All-Defensive Team and the Second-Team All-Big Ten Team. To me, this says that viewers are interested in watching womens sports. No matter what is the sport, there is always a pay gap between the mens and womens event. Full list of highest paid players. And famously sat out the WNBA 2015-2016 season. - The Data Jocks, Rapid revenue growth and the ratio of revenue to player salary, The ratio of highest paid WNBA players to the average salary. Leagues in their infancy need time to expand, find their audience, and exploit their revenue streams. Valentina Shevchenko vs Alexa Grasso Purse Payouts | What Will be there share in UFC 285 Potential Bonus? WWE Wrestlers Who Served In Military | How It Impact Their Careers In Wrestling? That is a lot of money , especially compared to what teachers get paid. But award money calculations are based off of 2020 results. Shes also won a championship with the Los Angeles Sparks, for whom she was the first-round pick in 2008. If not for the remarkably low average WNBA salary, the Ws stars would not be compelled to play in overseas leagues in the offseason. The Suns have clear championship expectations and Bonner will have to play at an elite level if they want to win their first chip. Copyright 2017-2023 Rookie Road Inc. All rights reserved. Cavinder has endorsement deals with Under Armour, Raising Canes, Intuit TurboTax, and Victoria's Secret PINK. But she recently signed deals with life insurance company Symetra (along with her life partner, Megan Rapinoe). With that in mind, it should come as no surprise that many of the richest contracts in WNBA history were signed over the last couple of seasons. When comparing college leagues, the men draw about 15 times more viewers than the women. 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. Earning a second WNBA title and a second WNBA Finals MVP award. 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. Viviane Araujo vs Amanda Ribas Purse Payouts | How Much Both Earn from PPV Money & Bonuses? In 2022, the highest paid WNBA players are Breanna Stewart, DeWanna Bonner, Jewell Loyd, Elena Delle Donne, Skylar Diggins-Smith, Brittney Griner, and Diana Taurasi.