WNBA rookies and veterans are in uncharted financial territory

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The new WNBA collective bargaining agreement has changed everything for players, and rookies entering the league for the first time are about to experience a reality that veterans never had the chance to.

For example, Dallas’ first overall pick Azzi Fudd will have a base salary of $500,000 in her first season, while second-round picks will go from around $70,000 to more than $270,000 in their rookie seasons.

It’s something that Valkyries rookie Marta Suarez said players talked about “all week,” after they were drafted.

“Because not only these but we also got the opportunity to experience the transfer portal in the NIL,” she said. “As people, as women, we started playing the game for the love of the game, that it was kind of, it’s hard for us to find a role model growing up. We look for it, and now to be able to step into these, which is the dream, which is the pursuit of all these people that came before us, incredibly grateful, first of all, but then also a sense of responsibility. Because we’re coming into this, we know there’s expectations.”

Suarez was the first pick of the second round and traded to the Valkyries for their first-round pick, Flau’jae Johnson, and she didn’t hold back about the kind of impact the new agreement has on her future.

“We don’t want to just take these and roll with it,” she said. “We want to take this and then take a step farther for the generations coming up behind.”

Some of those who made that happen are her teammates, such as Tiffany Hayes, who signed a $600,000 deal for this season after making just $88,000 for a season just two years ago.

“I’ve been here 14 seasons and just to see the growth, to see the younger players getting what they deserve, even us, the veterans, are getting more of what we deserve, and we get to be a part of this,” she said. “And we’re still here. A lot of us are still here. We’re all grateful for the opportunity. And I think just to be here and get to see, I mean, even if you didn’t make it, if I didn’t make a roster, I would definitely be happy about the growth of this league, just to be a part of it for so long.”

The top raise for a returning WNBA player by percentage, according to Rotowire, was actually former Valkyries’ center Temi Fagbenle who got a 1,413% increase by signing a $1 million deal with expansion Toronto.

Valkyries point guard Veronica Burton’s raise of 1,130% is the highest on the Valkyries and the eighth-highest in the WNBA.

Kiah Stokes, who signed a two-year deal with the Valkyries worth $761,250 overall, said the offseason of waiting was draining on players even with the positive result.

“It was actually very, very frustrating, because there were some leaks that were coming out,” Stokes said. “So then the CBA committee really tightened down, so we were kind of all not involved. We knew what the media knew. It was very, very frustrating, but super happy with what we came up with. But I did feel like everything was rushed. So now that (training camp) started, I feel like we can take a breath for half a second, because again, camp started, and then next week is gonna be games, so it’s a lot going on, but it’s very exciting.”

Stokes’ WNBA career began in 2015 and her rookie salary was around $40,000. She made $203,000 with the Aces in the past two years combined, less than the $375,000 she will get for one season with the Valkyries.

“I think the game is just growing in a tremendous way,” said 11-year veteran Erica Wheeler, who just signed for $625,000 per season over two years with the Los Angeles Sparks. “I think the world is watching it. Everybody’s gonna notice. So I think that’s super dope. So I think we’re going in the right direction.”

The veterans seem far from salty that they have fewer years to accumulate the larger salaries, and more excitement for the players that come after them.

The new salary cap gives young players much more money and agency before they even go to free agency, and veterans who won’t benefit long-term still have a chance to make money they otherwise never would have in the WNBA.

“The Expansion Draft couldn’t happen until we figured out the CBA and you never really know what to expect, this league is ever changing a lot,” third-year player Kate Martin said. “There were a couple new teams this year, so you really didn’t know what was going to happen with the expansion so I think it was kind of a waiting game, and you’re just kind of sitting on the edge of your seat. But everything works out exactly how it was or how it’s supposed to.”

It seems to have been worth the wait.

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