To that point, Taurasis most recent contract was negotiated under the previous CBA, leaving her criminally underpaid. In 2021, she signed a new contract with the Vegas Aces on a one-year agreement of $221,450. Opponents to increasing the WNBA player salaries at this point will say you cant just adjust a 12-team league to a 30-team league and assume that the numbers will work themselves out! This is an interesting point but in the next section we argue the exact opposite. DeWanna Bonner comes fourth at $227,900. An exception is necessary to sign a player for a contract that would exceed the salary cap threshold of the "soft cap". The 68 center for the Los Angeles Sparks has been selected to the All-Star team three times. Not surprisingly, Sue Bird made the salary cap of $221,450 in 2021. Skylar Kierra Diggins-Smith (born August 2, 1990) is an American professional basketball player for the Phoenix Mercury in the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA). Eight players . In addition to Roc Nation, Skylar also has deals with Sprint and Nike. The point of this exercise is to counter the myth that we cant afford to pay high salaries to WNBA players because the league just doesnt make any money. Scott Rafferty is a Senior NBA Editor for The Sporting News. Breannas team, the Seattle Storm, won the 2020 WNBA Championship. Also Who is the lowest paid WNBA player? Hammon was an assistant coach for the NBA's San Antonio Spurs for eight seasons before making the leap to become a head coach in the WNBA. The minimum salary for an WNBA player with two years of service will rise from $42,728 annually to $57,000 beginning in 2020. Highest Paid WNBA Players 5 - Skylar Diggins Smith 4 - DeWanna Bonner 3 - Elena Delle Donne 2 - Breanna Stewart 1 - Jewell Loyd Top 10 Highest Paid WNBA Players Women National Basketball Association is the top tier league which gave a new turn to basketball world by providing opportunity to female athletes to show their talent. Plum remains a seminal piece for the Aces, as they regularly look at her to break interior defenders and draw fouls on opposing defenses. Stephen Curry of Golden State Warriors is currently the highest paid NBA player for 2021-22 NBA season, earning around $45.7 million U.S while Lebron James, on the 4th rank earning around $41.1 dollars for 2021-22 NBA season. Highest-paid WNBA Players of 2022 by Total Salary Dollar figures via Spotrac based on a 2022 salary cap of $1,379,170. Top 25 Highest Paid WNBA Players in 2022 & Ever, Breanna Stewart: Seattle Storm $228,094, Diana Taurasi: Phoenix Mercury $228,094, Brittney Griner: Phoenix Mercury $227,900, DeWanna Bonner: Connecticut Sun $227,900, Elena Delle Donne: Washington Mystics $227,900, Skylar Diggins-Smith: Phoenix Mercury $227,900, Natasha Howard: New York Liberty $221,450, Alyssa Thomas: Connecticut Sun $206,000, Jonquel Jones: Connecticut Sun $205,000, Kelsey Mitchell: Indiana Fever $200,000, Betnijah Laney: New York Liberty $196,267, Nneka Ogwumike: Los Angeles Sparks $196,267, Kristi Toliver: Los Angeles Sparks $196,100, Courtney Vandersloot: Chicago Sky $195,000, Cheyenne Parker: Atlanta Dream $190,550. For the first few years of the league's history, it was so unpopular that the NBA had to subsidize the operating cost of their female counterpart. NBA Player Salaries - 2022-2023 . Heres why: The WNBA is a 12 team league versus the NBA being a 30 team league. Three players will earn a league-high $228,094 on WNBA supermax salaries this season. WNBA Salary Rankings Listing the top salaries, cap hits, cash, earnings, contracts, and bonuses, for all active WNBA players. She was named the WNBA MVP in 2018 and was named. This is not dissimilar to the history of the NBA, just many years later. Here are the top 10: 1 . The highest paid WNBA player this year is a tie between Breanna Stewart, Diana Taurasi, and Jewell Lloyd each making just over $228,000 this year. In light of the COVID-19 pandemic, Delle Donne, a longtime Lyme disease patient, elected to sit out the 2020 season due to her susceptibility to the virus. Loyd was the first overall pick in 2015 after an illustrious career at Notre Dame, going to two national championship games. She continues to break records both offensively and defensively. Not only did she win regular season MVP and Defensive Player of the Year, but her team won the Commissioners Cup and the WNBA Finals. No matter what is the sport, there is always a pay gap between the mens and womens event. Who are the highest-paid NBA players? He amassed 1.6 million Instagram followers, and 2.7 million TikTok followers, much from his high school basketball highlight videos going viral. its no wonder why Liz Cambages earnings ar eup there. The LA Sparks, who lost superstars Parker and Gray in the offseason, will pay Kristi Toliver andWNBPA President Nneka Ogwumike max salaries of $190,550 each this year. And shes got her own media company Togethxr along with three other star athletes. A knee injury kept her out of the 2019 campaign, but she has otherwise played for the Seattle Storm in every WNBA season dating back to 2002. Kidding. Who is the highest paid WNBA player in the world right now? In her career, she has played exceptionally well and has generated enough revenue from contracts as well as merchandise sales. In the NBA, the same ratio is about 4.7. Last season Loyd averaged 17.9 points, 3.8 assists, and 1.4 steals, earning her All-WNBA First team honors. 20 Highest Paid WNBA Players 1. 1-4 in the 2022 WNBA Draft, the base salary is expected to be $72,141 in year one. No matter how you slice it, the pay gap in the WNBA versus the NBA is remarkable. For the 2021-2022 NBA season, the NBA's rookie minimum sat at $925,000 just about four times the average annual salary of the WNBA's highest-paid player. Check out all the highest paid WNBA players below, and come back when new WNBA starssign newcontracts to see how their salaries stack up! Earning a second WNBA title and a second WNBA Finals MVP award. So she now rakes in almost $100,000 more than that. Larry Bird was the first player to earn $5 million or more with a salary of $7,070,000 in the 1991-92 season. Viviane Araujo vs Amanda Ribas Purse Payouts | How Much Both Earn from PPV Money & Bonuses? Stewart was the first overall pick in the 2016 WNBA Draft and was named the 2016 WNBA Rookie of the Year. And thus still earned her $1.5 million salary! Skylar Diggins-Smith. List of highest paid Major League Baseball players, "Kobe Bryant to Become NBA's Second Ever $30-Million Player", "The NBA's 25 highest-paid players for the 2016-17 season", https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Highest-paid_NBA_players_by_season&oldid=1142898961, National Basketball Association statistical leaders, Employee compensation in the United States, Short description with empty Wikidata description, Wikipedia pages semi-protected against vandalism, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License 3.0, This page was last edited on 4 March 2023, at 22:55. The duo of Stewart and Loyd have earned their spots not only as some of the top players in the W, but they are both tied for the number two spot in the list of top WNBA earners at $228,094. And has had deals with State Farm and American Express in the past. And add that to her bank. Here are the top. In this list we examine the top 10 highest paid college basketball players as of February 2023. So its no wonder shes amongst the seven players who top the list in annual salary. Hansel Enmanuel is the highest-earning college basketball player with an NIL value of $1.5 million.Enmanuel, who was born with no left arm, is from the Dominican Republic and attends Northwestern State University.He amassed 1.6 million Instagram followers, and 2.7 million TikTok followers, much from his high school basketball highlight videos going viral.Fans across the world were inspired by Enmanuels story as well as his ridiculous athletic ability. And its easy to see that theres a good chance Candace made close to $1.5 million dollars during her overseas reign. On this Wikipedia the language links are at the top of the page across from the article title. The trajectory of our organization changed the day we drafted her 17 years ago, and we are excited she will be here into the future. The deal could be the last of Taurasis career, but we can feel relieved that she is reaping some of the benefits shes worked to sow for the next generation. She scored again by being selected to the 2020 All-WNBA Second Team, adding a bonus of $5,150 to her pay. As of now, the details of her contract have not been announced. Sue is one of the few WNBA stars who have endorsement deals. Meanwhile, center Griner re-signed with and was cored by Phoenix, and was able to take advantage of the new supermax rules as well. Amari Bailey is one of the highest earning college basketball players, with an NIL value of $520,000.Bailey was a top prospect in the 2022 class. The Ace's core remains young and hungry after their first taste of winning, but can they do it again next season? Winner gets $1 to break the tie. How Much Does A College Basketball Coach Make? Skylar will make $227,900 from her Phoenix Mercury contract in 2022. The highest paid WNBA players are certainly not paid enough. It will be interesting to see what the Storm can accomplished with an even larger role carved out for Jewell Loyd. Some of the WNBA's biggest stars are currently free agents in search of new contracts, including Breanna Stewart andCourtney Vandersloot. Liz Cambage has played in China, where, way back in 2012, she reportedly netted $297,100 ($400,000 Australian dollars) for her overseas stint. Three franchises the Dallas Wings, Los Angeles Sparks, and Las Vegas Aces do not have a single player taking home $200,000 or more this season. Women National Basketball Association is the top tier league which gave a new turn to basketball world by providing opportunity to female athletes to show their talent. Mercury G Diana Taurasi: $228,094 (WNBA max salary) Contract: 2 years, $449,544 Average annual value: $224,772 t-1. . In June 2021, the Supreme Court ruled that the NCAA was no longer allowed to prevent education-related payments to students, which changed college sports forever.This paved the way for NIL deals, which allowed college athletes to profit on their own name, image, and likeness through endorsements and brand deals.A combination of a strong social media following off the court, and good play on the court can result in players receiving millions of dollars in NIL deals per season. Now onto the highest paid WNBA players of all time. The problem is that the WNBA needs to gain footing with networks and advertisers. Patrick Ewing became the first player to earn $15 million or more in the 95-96 season with a . The WNBA is a very new league, only having been founded in the late 1990s. Marta Vieira da Silva is undoubtedly the highest paid basketball player in the WNBA. Sue is also a part of Team USA. High consumption of womens college basketball indicates that there is an appetite for increased consumption of womens professional basketball. In 2022, shell make $227,900 from her Phoenix Mercury contract. The WNBA's minimum for a player with zero to two years of experience is $58,710, while vets with three or more years of experience earn a minimum of $70,040. Although the Storm enjoyed a trip to the semifinals last season, they will have a large gap to fill with the retirement of Sue Bird. But if womens college basketball can come close to competing with mens college basketball during tournament time, the WNBA should be able to draw more eyes. To make our point, we need to look at the viewership statistics of a more established womens sports league: womens college basketball. Wilson has signed NIL deals with Legacy Restaurant Group, MiniJerzeys, Charlie Hustle, Rally House, and Family Promise. In celebration, Mercury GM Jim Pitman emphasized the obvious: [Diana] is the heart of our franchise, the first face on our Mount Rushmore, the best winner and competitor in the womens game. She has helped the Storm win two championships, with the most recent coming in the 2020 'wubble'. Sherly is third on the list of the highest paid WNBA players with 99,500$ per year. In 2021, her Las Vegas Aces salary was $221,450. Data provided by HighPostHoops.com 2023 Cap Hit Rankings Trending Players view 1 Kelsey Plum (G, LV) view 2 Sabrina Ionescu (G, NY) view 3 Jackie Young (G, LV) view 4 Arella Guirantes (G, SEA) view 5 Brittney Griner (C, PHX) Jewell Loyd (born October 5, 1993) is an American professional basketball player for Perfumerias Avenida of Spain's Liga Femenina de Baloncesto and the Seattle Storm of the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA). However, in recent years the popularity of the WNBA is skyrocketing. Since Sues team, the Seattle Storm, won the 2020 WNBA Championship, each player pockets an additional $11,536 for that feat. While the details of her Roc Nation deal havent been divulged, its Sports President, Juan Perez, says that Skylar has earned far more than if shed played abroad. Here's the list of the top 25 highest paid players in the WNBA in 2022: Breanna Stewart: Seattle Storm - $228,094 Diana Taurasi: Phoenix Mercury - $228,094 Jewell Loyd: Seattle Storm - $228,094 Brittney Griner: Phoenix Mercury - $227,900 DeWanna Bonner: Connecticut Sun - $227,900 Elena Delle Donne: Washington Mystics - $227,900