A\u2019ja Wilson must be feeling pretty good right now.<\/p>\n
The former South Carolina star\u2019s alma mater made it to the NCAA Tournament championship game for the third straight year. Her line of signature Nike basketball shoes is expanding, with the highly anticipated A\u2019Two set to drop at the beginning of May.<\/p>\n
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Oh, and she recently secured a $1.2 million raise by signing the richest contract in WNBA history<\/a>.<\/p>\n That deal was made possible by a collective bargaining agreement over a year in the making. The agreement came to fruition last month, with WNBA players unanimously ratifying terms<\/a> hammered out over eight straight days in New York. Hundreds of hours of negotiating went into the pact, which features hefty pay raises, league revenue sharing and a significant boost to the salary cap.<\/p>\n WNBA players weren\u2019t chasing parity with men\u2019s pro leagues when they opted out of their previous CBA in 2024. Rather, the players\u2019 association wanted to set a higher standard<\/a> of living for their athletes, not just in salary but across the board. What the players achieved was a deal that raises the bar for other women\u2019s professional leagues \u2014 a CBA that will not only transform the league\u2019s economics, but also the landscape of women\u2019s team sports.<\/p>\n Below is an analysis of where the CBA puts the WNBA financially in comparison to other women\u2019s leagues, and, for context, where those leagues are relative to men\u2019s pro leagues.<\/p>\n Advertisement<\/p>\n Table data based on league CBAs and contract details from Spotrac.com<\/a>, not total earnings (salary plus partnerships, endorsements, brand deals, etc.).\u00a0<\/p>\n Basketball<\/p>\n WNBA vs. NBA (2026)<\/p>\n WNBA<\/p>\n NBA<\/p>\n Salary Cap<\/p>\n $7 million<\/p>\n $154.6 million<\/p>\n Maximum Salary<\/p>\n $1.4 million<\/p>\n $54.1 million<\/p>\n Minimum Salary<\/p>\n $270,000<\/p>\n $1.3 million<\/p>\n Average Salary<\/p>\n $583,000<\/p>\n $10.5 million<\/p>\n CBA Length<\/p>\n 7 years<\/p>\n 7 years<\/p>\n Entering its 30th season, the WNBA is the oldest active women\u2019s pro league in the country, so it tracks that it now has a robust CBA to match.<\/p>\n Just a year ago, Wilson, a four-time WNBA MVP<\/a>, had a base annual salary ($200,000<\/a>) that was less than half what her boyfriend, Miami Heat center Bam Adebayo, made in a single NBA game (roughly $425,000<\/a>).<\/p>\n Now, the salary cap has increased by $5.5 million, with minimum salaries jumping to around $300,000. Those figures will increase over the seven-year lifespan of the deal, with the supermax salary rising to $2 million as league revenue increases. Although not every league discloses specifics, based on estimates, the new salary structure makes WNBA players the highest-earning women\u2019s pro athletes in a team sport by a long shot.<\/p>\n Advertisement<\/p>\n Other CBA highlights<\/a> include a comprehensive parental leave package, protections for pregnant players, 20 percent gross revenue sharing, mandatory 12-person rosters, housing stipends for certain athletes and higher bonuses for awards and honors.<\/p>\n Still, in terms of salaries, WNBA paychecks remain a drop in the bucket compared to men\u2019s leagues.<\/p>\n The NBA has a soft salary cap that starts at $154.6 million<\/a>, while the league\u2019s highest-paid player, Jayson Tatum, will receive an annual average of $62.8 million<\/a> over the life of his current five-year contract. The supermax salary for a WNBA player ($1.4 million) doesn\u2019t even match the minimum salary for a second-year NBA player ($2.05 million<\/a>), per Spotrac.<\/p>\n There is a possibility that somewhere down the line, the main women\u2019s pro league could be autonomous of the NBA. The formation of player-owned leagues like Unrivaled<\/a>, which offered players upwards of $220,000 for an eight-week season, offers a glimpse into what the finances of an independent league could look like.<\/p>\n Advertisement<\/p>\n Soccer<\/p>\n NWSL vs. MLS (2026)<\/p>\n NWSL<\/p>\n MLS<\/p>\n Salary Cap<\/p>\n $3.7 million<\/p>\n $6.4 million<\/p>\n Maximum Salary<\/p>\n $500,000*<\/p>\n $803,125<\/p>\n Minimum Salary<\/p>\n $50,500<\/p>\n $88,025<\/p>\n Average Salary<\/p>\n Undisclosed*<\/p>\n $602,246<\/p>\n CBA Length<\/p>\n 6 years<\/p>\n 8 years<\/p>\n *The NWSLPA does not disclose all the details of the CBA, including average and maximum salaries.<\/p>\n NWSL players are guaranteed a salary floor of $50,500<\/a>, while some of the league\u2019s top talent have contracts worth over an estimated $500,000 annually. The Washington Spirit\u2019s Trinity Rodman is the league\u2019s top-paid player<\/a> at around $2 million, thanks to the recently introduced High Impact Player rule that allows teams to spend $1 million over the base salary cap of $3.7 million on a star player (or players).<\/p>\n The NWSL\u2019s CBA is the most liberal in terms of player movement and agency. The league\u2019s most recent CBA, signed in 2024, ended the NWSL draft and expansion drafts, giving players unrestricted free agency once their contracts expire. Players must give their consent before being traded and can negotiate directly with teams during free agency. The structure is unparalleled in the United States, but is standard in international soccer \u2014 the Women\u2019s Super League<\/a> in Europe guarantees an even higher minimum wage for its veteran players (about $54,000 per year).<\/p>\n Advertisement<\/p>\n Contracts are also fully guaranteed,\u00a0and the CBA established revenue sharing.<\/p>\n The MLS, which operates independent of the NWSL, will have a salary cap of $7.1 million in 2027<\/a> and currently has minimum base salaries<\/a> of $88,025 for reserve players and $113,400 for senior players, respectively. Lionel Messi of Inter Miami is the highest-paid MLS player with a $12 million annual salary<\/a>, but only one other player in the league earns an eight-figure salary, according to Capology. Equal pay efforts<\/a> from the U.S. women\u2019s national team dating back to 2014 may be to thank for the MLS and NWSL having the smallest gender pay gap in the same sport. The U.S. women\u2019s national team\u2019s success in international tournaments has also helped.<\/p>\n Hockey<\/p>\n PWHL vs. NHL (2026)<\/p>\n PWHL<\/p>\n NHL<\/p>\n Salary Cap<\/p>\n $1.34 million<\/p>\n $95.5 million<\/p>\n Maximum Salary<\/p>\n $80,000*<\/p>\n $19.1 million**<\/p>\n Minimum Salary<\/p>\n $37,131.50<\/p>\n $775,000<\/p>\n Average Salary<\/p>\n $58,349.50<\/p>\n $3.5 million<\/p>\n CBA Length<\/p>\n 8 years<\/p>\n 4 years<\/p>\n At least six players per PWHL team must make $80,000 annually<\/a>, and nine players across the league are reportedly making closer to $100,000. Emily Clark of the Ottawa Charge is the league\u2019s highest-paid player with an unspecified six-figure salary over $100,000. Per the CBA, Walter Cup winners take home $63,250<\/a> to split among the players, and winners of the All-Star Game get $1,500 per player. Bonuses for awards like MVP and Rookie of the Year are $5,000 and $4,000, respectively, right about where the NWSL was with bonuses before it renegotiated its CBA in 2024.<\/p>\n Advertisement<\/p>\n The PWHL\u2019s salary waterline is similar to where the WNBA and NWSL were a few years ago, and there is plenty of hunger for women\u2019s hockey<\/a> from fans: The league is poised to launch up to four expansion teams by next season. But the league\u2019s CBA doesn\u2019t expire until 2031, meaning players will remain underpaid \u2014 the league minimum salary is under $40,000 and only increases 3 percent each year \u2014 until they can renegotiate.<\/p>\n Compared to other men\u2019s pro leagues, the NHL and MLS have some of the lower-salaried players. But the NHL\u2019s salary cap is rising sharply<\/a>, and the aforementioned surge in popularity for men\u2019s and women\u2019s hockey in the post-double-Olympic-gold era means plenty of new brand deals to be struck. Still, the Minnesota Wild\u2019s Kirill Kaprizov makes a league-high $17 million a year<\/a> with a contract valued at $136 million over eight years. PWHL players have yet to crack seven figures.<\/p>\n Baseball<\/p>\n WPBL vs. MLB (2026)<\/p>\n WPBL<\/p>\n MLB<\/p>\n Salary Cap<\/p>\n $95,000<\/p>\n None<\/p>\n Maximum Salary<\/p>\n Undisclosed<\/p>\n None<\/p>\n Minimum Salary<\/p>\n Undisclosed<\/p>\n $780,000<\/p>\n Average Salary<\/p>\n $6,333*<\/p>\n $5.34 million<\/p>\n CBA Length<\/p>\n N\/A<\/p>\n 5 years<\/p>\n A total of 600 athletes representing over 10 countries attended the brand-new Women\u2019s Professional Baseball League tryouts at Nationals Park<\/a> last summer, with about 60 roster spots to fill. The WPBL doesn\u2019t have a players\u2019 association yet, much less a CBA. As such, the pay isn\u2019t much: Each of the league\u2019s four teams\u2019 salary caps sits at just $95,000<\/a> for the inaugural seven-week season, which shakes out to about $6,333 per player. Still, that comes down to more per week than what No. 1 pick Kelsie Whitmore was likely making in a month of pitching men\u2019s indie ball<\/a>.<\/p>\n Advertisement<\/p>\n Meanwhile, New York Mets outfielder Juan Soto<\/a>, who currently boasts the MLB\u2019s largest contract in total dollars, makes about $314,000 per game.<\/p>\n The WPBL is one-of-one, but it\u2019s not the country\u2019s first women\u2019s baseball league. The All-American Girls Professional Baseball League<\/a> was founded in 1943 as a wartime hobby by MLB owners to prevent a decline in baseball fervor while men (including MLB players) were off fighting overseas. As depicted in the 1992 blockbuster \u201cA League of Their Own,\u201d players were required to practice ladylike etiquette, wear lipstick at all times, and suit up in dresses for games.<\/p>\n The MLB has a storied history of labor negotiations that stands out among men\u2019s leagues, with over 400 days of combined labor stoppages on nine separate occasions of strikes or lockouts over 50 years (and, famously, the cancellation of the 1994 World Series). There are no salary caps or max salaries in MLB, although there is a \u201ccompetitive balance tax<\/a>\u201d that taxes teams that exceed a certain salary threshold ($241 million in 2025). Still, paychecks and salary structures vary wildly, with a significant intraleague pay gap between the league\u2019s highest and lowest earners. Team spending is also lopsided:<\/a> As of 2025, payroll disparity was at a record high. The Los Angeles Dodgers\u2019 payroll (approx. $350 million<\/a>) was more than five times that of the lowest-spending team, the Miami Marlins ($67.8 million), in 2025.<\/p>\n Average MLB salaries peaked<\/a> this year as well, according to AP.<\/p>\n Advertisement<\/p>\n Football<\/p>\n NFL (2026)<\/p>\n NFL<\/p>\n Salary Cap<\/p>\n $301.2 million<\/p>\n Maximum Salary<\/p>\n None<\/p>\n Minimum Salary<\/p>\n $885,000<\/p>\n Average Salary<\/p>\n $4.5 million*<\/p>\n CBA Length<\/p>\n 11 years<\/p>\n *Calculated based on Spotrac\u2019s 2025 data<\/a> for average salaries on all signed contracts across positions.\u00a0<\/p>\n Why include a football section if there\u2019s no women\u2019s equivalent? Because there may soon be \u2014 and because it\u2019s worth noting the salaries in one of the biggest American sports leagues. Dallas Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott has the largest contract in the NFL in terms of average annual value at $60 million<\/a>, with 10 other players signed to deals with average annual values over $50 million.<\/p>\n