Aside from the skills displayed at the 2025 WNBA All-Star Game and events this weekend in Indianapolis, a major focal point created by the various All-Stars was the need for increased compensation for players across the league.
As a result of the historic rise in the league’s overall popularity during the 2024 season, the players’ union opted out of the WNBA collective bargaining agreement in October in the hopes of striking a new deal that provides improved benefits and increased player compensation.
In response to the players’ union classifying their Thursday meeting with the league on a new CBA as a missed opportunity, players wore T-shirts that read “Pay Us What You Owe Us” during warmups of the 2025 WNBA All-Star Game on Saturday night.
With WNBA player salaries a topic of national discussion, what is Caitlin Clark’s contract compensation?
What is Caitlin Clark’s salary?
According to Spotrac, Clark’s four-year rookie contract provides her with an average annual salary of $84,514, totaling $338,056 over the length of the agreement.
Her season-by-season payout is a slightly different story, as Clark was paid $76,535 in 2024 and is scheduled to earn $78,066 this current season. Clark’s base pay increases to $85,873 in 2026 and concludes at $97,582 in 2027 during a final club option season of her contract.
How much do WNBA players make?
Each WNBA team works with a salary cap of $1,507,100. There is also a required $1,261,440 minimum to spend.
Per the current operating CBA and Her Hoop Stats, the league’s super-maximum is $249,244. The regular maximum contract is $214,466.
The minimum contract to players with two or less years of service is $66,079 and $78,831 to WNBA players with three or more years of service.
Who has the largest contract value in the WNBA?
As of July 20, 2025, Dallas Wings’ guard Arike Ogunbowale is the WNBA’s highest-paid player according to her total contract value. The former Notre Dame star is in the final year of the three-year contract she signed in 2023 that pays her a total of $725,952.
The title for largest average annual value in the league belongs to Las Vegas Aces guard Jackie Young, whose AAV clocks in at $252,450 per Spotrac.
When is the deadline for a new WNBA collective bargaining agreement?
While the players’ union and the league continue to work on finding common ground to finalize a new CBA, the deadline to reach an agreement is Oct. 31, 2025. If the two sides cannot reach a new CBA by then, a work stoppage could jeopardize the start of the 2026 WNBA season.
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