{"id":586310,"date":"2026-04-15T19:42:10","date_gmt":"2026-04-15T19:42:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/586310\/"},"modified":"2026-04-15T19:42:10","modified_gmt":"2026-04-15T19:42:10","slug":"aja-wilsons-record-contract-still-feels-too-small-5-reasons-aces-star-remains-underpaid","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/586310\/","title":{"rendered":"A\u2019ja Wilson\u2019s record contract still feels too small: 5 reasons Aces star remains underpaid"},"content":{"rendered":"

A\u2019ja Wilson\u2019s record contract still feels too small: 5 reasons Aces star remains underpaid<\/a> originally appeared on The Sporting News<\/a>. Add The Sporting News as a Preferred Source by clicking here<\/a>.<\/p>\n

A’ja Wilson just signed the richest deal in WNBA history, a three-year, $5 million supermax to stay with the Las Vegas Aces<\/a>. It\u2019s a milestone for the league. It also doesn\u2019t feel like enough.<\/p>\n

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Wilson is the first four-time MVP in league history. She\u2019s a three-time champion, a two-time Finals MVP and one of the most dominant two-way players the sport has ever seen. When someone with that r\u00e9sum\u00e9 signs the biggest deal ever and the reaction is still \u201cshe should be making more,\u201d that tells you everything.<\/p>\n

Here are five reasons why Wilson is still underpaid, even after resetting the market.<\/p>\n

1. The system still limits what she can earn<\/p>\n

The biggest issue isn\u2019t the contract itself , it\u2019s the structure around it. The WNBA has a salary cap and a defined supermax. That means even the best player in the world can only make so much. Wilson didn\u2019t negotiate her true value. She hit the ceiling that exists. In other words, this deal reflects the system\u2019s limits more than her worth.<\/p>\n

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2. Her resume is already all-time great<\/p>\n

Wilson isn\u2019t just the best player right now, she\u2019s building one of the best careers ever. She\u2019s already done things no one else has. In 2025, she pulled off a season that included a scoring title, MVP, Defensive Player of the Year, Finals MVP and a championship. That kind of dominance doesn\u2019t just happen. Players with that level of impact usually redefine what \u201ctop salary\u201d looks like. Wilson did that, but the number still doesn\u2019t match the r\u00e9sum\u00e9.<\/p>\n

3. She changes games without needing help<\/p>\n

There are stars, and then there are players who control everything. Wilson is the kind of player who dictates both ends of the floor. She scores, rebounds, protects the rim, anchors a defense and carries an offense when needed. There\u2019s no weakness to scheme against. That kind of complete control is rare. In most leagues, that type of player becomes the financial standard. In the WNBA, she\u2019s still working within limits that don\u2019t fully reflect that level of dominance.<\/p>\n

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4. Her impact goes beyond basketball<\/p>\n

Wilson isn\u2019t just producing on the court. She\u2019s one of the faces of the league. From signature shoes to national recognition, she\u2019s helping grow the WNBA\u2019s visibility and reach. She\u2019s part of why the league is gaining momentum, attention and relevance. When a player is driving both performance and growth, their value goes beyond stats. That\u2019s another layer her contract can\u2019t fully capture.<\/p>\n

MORE:\u00a0Fever continue reshaping roster around Caitlin Clark as familiar teammate nears signing<\/a><\/p>\n

5. \u201cHighest paid ever\u201d doesn\u2019t mean properly paid<\/p>\n

This is the part that stands out the most. Yes, this is the biggest contract in league history. That matters. But it also highlights how low that bar has been. If the best player of her generation, maybe the best player in league history,\u00a0 signs a record deal and it still feels light, then the market hasn\u2019t caught up yet.<\/p>\n

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Wilson didn\u2019t just set a new standard. She exposed how far the standard still has to go.<\/p>\n

The bigger picture<\/p>\n

This deal is progress. There\u2019s no way around that. The numbers are growing, and stars like Wilson are finally seeing that reflected more than ever before. But it\u2019s also clear that the gap hasn\u2019t closed.<\/p>\n

Wilson is doing everything a player can possibly do at the highest level. She\u2019s winning, dominating and leading the league forward at the same time. And even now, she\u2019s still not being paid like it.<\/p>\n

More WNBA news:<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"A\u2019ja Wilson\u2019s record contract still feels too small: 5 reasons Aces star remains underpaid originally appeared on The…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":586311,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[73],"tags":[188707,1760,4129,4677,99,434,66313],"class_list":["post-586310","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-wnba","tag-a39ja-wilson","tag-caitlin-clark","tag-fever","tag-las-vegas-aces","tag-sports","tag-wnba","tag-wnba-history"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/586310","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=586310"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/586310\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/586311"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=586310"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=586310"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=586310"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}