WNBA players are getting paid out like never before.
The league and the player’s union, the Women’s National Basketball Players Association, reached a new collective bargaining agreement in March that will result in higher salaries for players.
The seven-year deal commences in 2026 and will run through 2032. WNBA Commissioner Cathy Engelbert in a press release called the agreement “a defining moment in the WNBA’s 30-year history and all of women’s professional sports.”
It came after several of the league’s starts pushed for more money as ratings and ticket sales continued to grow. Last summer amid contraction negotiations, players wore shirts to the WNBA All-Star Game that said “Pay Us What You Owe Us.”
Adam Silver, the commissioner of the NBA, which owns 42% of the WNBA, also championed the idea of players receiving a bigger chunk of league revenue.
“I think ‘share’ isn’t the right way to look at it because there’s so much more revenue in the NBA,” he told Craig Melvin on TODAY in October when asked about players and revenue shares. “I think you should look at it in absolute numbers in terms of what they’re making, and they are going to bet a big increase in this cycle of collective bargaining, and they deserve it.”
WNBA Salaries, Including First Round Pick
Each team will have a salary cap of $7 million for the 2026 season, according to the collective bargaining agreement, with that figure expected to climb to over $11 million by the time the new CBA ends in 2032.
The maximum salary per player will be $1.4 million in 2026. That is projected to be $2.4 million by 2032.
The average salary will be $583,000 in 2026. By 2032, that number is expected to be over $1 million.
This year’s minimum salary will be $270,000 to $300,000, depending on tenure in the league. The minimum will be between $340,000 and $380,000 by the end of the CBA.
There are also recognition payments for players who’ve reached benchmarks for years in the league, as well as performance and award bonuses.
WNBA Commissioner Cathy Engelbert with Azzi Fudd, who was drafted first overall by the Dallas Wings on April 13.David L. Nemec / NBAE via Getty Images
Azzi Fudd was the No. 1 overall pick in the 2026 WNBA Draft on April 13. As part of the new CBA, she is expected to earn about $500,000. That’s a significant jump from the reported $78,000 made by last year’s top pick, Paige Bueckers, and is in lockstep with rookie salaries increasing as part of the new salary structure.
The salary increases come amid a growth in popularity for the WNBA, which will tip off its 30th campaign on May 8. This season will also feature a pair of expansion teams in their first year of play, the Portland Fire and Toronto Tempo. Three more expansion teams — Cleveland, Detroit and Philadelphia — will also join the league by 2030.