What Is Sabrina Ionescu’s Net Worth and Salary?

Sabrina Ionescu is an American professional basketball player who has a net worth of $10 million. Sabrina Ionescu earns a $1.19 million base salary playing for the New York Liberty of the WNBA. She earns significantly more each year off the court from endorsements.

Ionescu became one of the most recognizable stars in women’s basketball after a record-shattering college career at the University of Oregon and being selected first overall in the 2020 WNBA Draft. At Oregon, she became the first NCAA basketball player, male or female, to record at least 2,000 points, 1,000 rebounds, and 1,000 assists, while her 26 career triple-doubles established another NCAA record. After an injury-shortened rookie season in New York, Ionescu developed into a perennial All-Star and All-WNBA guard. She helped lead the Liberty to the 2023 WNBA Finals and then to the first championship in franchise history in 2024. She also won Olympic gold with Team USA at the 2024 Paris Games.

Off the court, Ionescu has become considerably more valuable commercially than her early WNBA salaries would suggest. Forbes estimated that she earned $6.3 million in 2024 and $10.5 million in 2025, with $16 million of that combined two-year total coming from endorsements and other off-court activities. Her Nike partnership produced the “Sabrina” signature shoe line, which became unusually popular with both WNBA and NBA players. She has also invested in startups, became an investor and commercial advisor to Bay FC, and works with Kevin Durant‘s Boardroom and Thirty Five Ventures.

Early Life

Sabrina Elaine Ionescu was born on December 6, 1997, in Walnut Creek, California. She is the daughter of Romanian immigrants Dan Ionescu and Liliana Blaj. Her father left Romania around the country’s 1989 revolution and sought political asylum in the United States. Liliana and their older son, Andrei, were unable to join him for several years, finally arriving in Northern California in 1995. Dan worked as a taxi driver before building a limousine business.

Sabrina has a twin brother, Edward “Eddy” Ionescu, who was born 18 minutes after her. The twins grew up competing constantly with each other and their older brother. Sabrina began playing basketball as a young child and spent countless hours competing against boys and adults at local parks.

She attended Miramonte High School in Orinda, California, where she developed into one of the nation’s top recruits. During her four varsity seasons, Miramonte went 119-9, and Ionescu scored a school-record 2,606 points. She was named the MVP of the 2016 McDonald’s All-American Game.

University of Oregon

Despite offers from several established basketball powers, Ionescu chose the University of Oregon. Her decision helped transform the Ducks into a national contender.

She made an immediate impact as a freshman, recording four triple-doubles and earning Pac-12 Freshman of the Year honors. Her production increased throughout college, and by her junior season she was one of the biggest stars in the sport. Oregon reached the Final Four in 2019, and Ionescu won both the Wooden Award and Wade Trophy.

Rather than leave for the WNBA when she became eligible, Ionescu returned to Oregon for her senior season. She ultimately finished her career with 2,562 points, 1,040 rebounds, and 1,091 assists, making her the first player in NCAA men’s or women’s basketball history to reach 2,000 points, 1,000 rebounds, and 1,000 assists.

Her 26 career triple-doubles were also an NCAA record. Ionescu became the Pac-12’s all-time assists leader, surpassing the conference record previously held by Gary Payton. She won the Wooden Award and Wade Trophy for a second consecutive season and added the 2020 Naismith College Player of the Year and Associated Press Player of the Year awards.

Oregon entered the 2020 NCAA Tournament as a championship favorite, but the tournament was canceled because of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Kobe Bryant Friendship

During her college career, Ionescu developed a friendship with Kobe Bryant, who became both a mentor and supporter of her career. Bryant and his daughter Gianna attended Oregon games, and Ionescu spent time training and discussing basketball with him.

After Kobe and Gianna died in a helicopter crash in January 2020, Ionescu was one of the speakers at their public memorial at Staples Center. Later that same day, she flew back to the Bay Area and played against Stanford, becoming the first NCAA player to officially reach the 2,000-point, 1,000-rebound, 1,000-assist milestone.

New York Liberty

The New York Liberty selected Ionescu with the first overall pick in the 2020 WNBA Draft, making her the first No. 1 draft pick in Oregon basketball history. Her rookie season lasted only three games after she suffered a serious ankle injury.

Ionescu returned in 2021 and recorded a triple-double in only her sixth career WNBA game, at the time the fastest any player had reached one. Her real breakout came in 2022, when she became a WNBA All-Star and earned All-WNBA Second Team honors. She also recorded the first 30-point triple-double in league history.

New York assembled a championship-caliber roster around Ionescu ahead of the 2023 season, adding stars including Breanna Stewart and Jonquel Jones. Ionescu responded by becoming one of the league’s most dangerous outside shooters. She made a then-WNBA-record 128 three-pointers during the regular season while shooting 44.8% from behind the arc.

The Liberty reached the WNBA Finals but lost to the Las Vegas Aces. Ionescu nevertheless earned another All-WNBA Second Team selection.

Three-Point Contest and Stephen Curry

Ionescu’s popularity expanded well beyond the WNBA during the 2023 All-Star festivities. In the final round of the WNBA Three-Point Contest, she scored 37 of a possible 40 points, missing only two shots. The performance established the highest single-round score ever recorded in either the NBA or WNBA version of the contest.

That performance eventually led to a nationally televised shooting competition against Stephen Curry during NBA All-Star Weekend in February 2024. Ionescu chose to shoot from the NBA three-point line and scored 26 points. Curry narrowly defeated her with 29.

The crossover event provided another indication of Ionescu’s unusual commercial appeal. Few WNBA players had previously been featured so prominently during one of the NBA’s marquee events.

2024 WNBA Championship

Ionescu averaged 18.2 points and 6.2 assists during the 2024 regular season as the Liberty finished with the best record in the league.

New York again reached the WNBA Finals, this time against the Minnesota Lynx. In Game 3, with the score tied in the final seconds, Ionescu launched a deep three-pointer from roughly 28 feet and made it with one second remaining, giving New York an 80-77 victory and a 2-1 series lead.

The championship eventually went to a decisive Game 5. Ionescu endured a brutal shooting night, making just one of 19 field-goal attempts, but contributed eight assists and seven rebounds as New York won 67-62 in overtime. The victory gave the Liberty their first WNBA championship after five previous Finals losses.

Ionescu was named to the All-WNBA Second Team for the third consecutive season.

Olympic Gold Medal

Ionescu made her Olympic debut with Team USA at the 2024 Paris Games. She played in all six games and averaged 5.5 points and 3.3 assists while shooting 40% from three-point range.

The American team defeated France in the gold-medal game, giving Ionescu her first Olympic championship. The roster included several of the most accomplished players in women’s basketball and extended the United States’ long-running dominance of the event.

2025 Season

Ionescu remained one of New York’s primary offensive weapons in 2025, averaging 18.2 points, 5.7 assists, and 4.9 rebounds per game. She made her fourth consecutive All-Star team and was named All-WNBA Second Team for the fourth straight season.

The Liberty finished 27-17 but were eliminated by the Phoenix Mercury in the first round of the playoffs, ending their championship defense earlier than expected.

WNBA Contract and Salary

For much of Ionescu’s career, there was an enormous gap between her commercial value and what the WNBA was permitted to pay its stars. Her rookie-scale salaries were $68,000 in 2020, $69,360 in 2021, and $76,297 in 2022. She earned $86,701 in 2023 before her salary jumped to $202,000 in 2024 and approximately $222,000 in 2025.

Through the end of the 2025 season, Ionescu had earned only about $724,000 in WNBA salary during her entire professional career.

That changed dramatically under the WNBA’s new collective bargaining agreement. The league’s salary cap increased from roughly $1.5 million per team in 2025 to $7 million in 2026, allowing star players to earn seven-figure salaries for the first time.

In April 2026, the Liberty re-signed Ionescu, Breanna Stewart, and Jonquel Jones to multiyear contracts. Ionescu signed a three-year standard maximum deal that pays $1.19 million in 2026, approximately $1.25 million in 2027, and roughly $1.31 million in 2028. The contract is worth about $3.75 million in total.

Her $1.19 million 2026 salary is more than five times what she earned from the Liberty the previous season.

Nike Contract and “Sabrina” Shoes

Nike signed Ionescu soon after she entered the WNBA, but the relationship became significantly more valuable when the company made her a signature athlete.

The original agreement was widely reported as having a potential value of $24 million. However, the “Wall Street Journal” later clarified that Ionescu was not guaranteed to receive the full headline amount because significant portions of the contract depended on playing incentives and shoe sales.

Nike introduced the Sabrina 1 in 2023. Ionescu became the first female basketball player to create a unisex signature collection for the company. The shoe quickly developed crossover appeal and was worn by numerous NBA players, something rarely achieved by a women’s signature basketball shoe.

The Sabrina 2 followed in 2024, the Sabrina 3 in 2025, and the Sabrina 4 in 2026. The continuing product line has helped establish Ionescu as one of Nike Basketball’s most important signature athletes.

Her success in the sneaker market has placed her within a changing women’s basketball economy that also includes major endorsement agreements for players such as Caitlin Clark. Clark’s subsequent eight-year, $28 million Nike agreement illustrated how quickly the commercial market for elite women’s basketball players had expanded.

(Photo by David Berding/Getty Images)

Endorsement Earnings and Investments

Ionescu’s endorsement earnings have substantially exceeded her basketball salary. Forbes estimated that she made $6.3 million in total earnings during 2024, of which approximately $6 million came from off-court sources. In 2025, her total earnings increased to an estimated $10.5 million, including roughly $10 million away from basketball.

Her sponsorship portfolio has included Nike, Fanatics, Michelob Ultra, AT&T, Away, Ant International, BodyArmor, State Farm, Xbox, and other companies.

Ionescu has also pursued equity investments rather than relying exclusively on endorsement checks. Her investments have included sports-media platform Buzzer and basketball technology company Nex. She became an ambassador for Kevin Durant’s Boardroom and a strategic partner with Durant and Rich Kleiman’s Thirty Five Ventures.

In March 2025, Ionescu joined the ownership group of Bay FC, the National Women’s Soccer League franchise based in the San Francisco Bay Area. She also became a commercial advisor to the club, working on sponsorship strategy and helping players develop their own endorsement portfolios.

Ionescu has additionally served as Chief Athlete Officer for Division Street, the organization created to help University of Oregon athletes capitalize on name, image, and likeness opportunities.

SI20 Foundation

Ionescu created the SI20 Foundation to expand access to sports for young people. The organization works with communities in New York, California, and Oregon and uses athletics to promote leadership, relationships, and personal development.

Its early projects included basketball clinics and partnerships with youth organizations. Ionescu has also used several of her corporate relationships to support the foundation’s programs.

Personal Life

Sabrina married professional football player Hroniss Grasu in March 2024 in Laguna Beach, California. Grasu, an offensive lineman who played college football at Oregon before entering the NFL, is also of Romanian descent. The couple began publicly dating in 2021 and became engaged in January 2023.

Ionescu has maintained close ties to both her Romanian heritage and the University of Oregon. She has also remained close with the Bryant family following Kobe and Gianna Bryant’s deaths, and Vanessa Bryant and Natalia Bryant attended her wedding.

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