Every WNBA Player Is Getting A Big Raise With The League's New Collective Bargaining Agreement

The start of the WNBA season is still about a month away, but there's plenty of excitement happening off the court. The new Toronto Tempo and Portland Fire had their expansion drafts on April 6, and free agency kicked off the next day. The WNBA Draft is on April 13, when the next wave of WNBA players—which will likely include several members of the NCAA champion UCLA Bruins—joins the league.

This offseason was also financially lucrative for WNBA players. Under a new collective bargaining agreement, the salary cap for each team will increase from $1.5 million to $7 million.

Like in the NBA, WNBA players can earn more money based on their years of experience. Here's how new contracts will look for players across the league.

Paige Bueckers (L) and A'ja Wilson are two WNBA stars getting big pay increases. (Ethan Miller/Getty Images)

Star veterans will have the ability to earn supermax contracts. Let's look at A'ja Wilson. The Las Vegas Aces drafted her in 2018, and she's averaged 21.4 points and 9.3 rebounds across eight seasons. She's certainly proven she's worthy of a max contract, and she's still 29 years old, so she has several quality seasons ahead of her.

Wilson made $200,000 in salary last season. Under the new collective bargaining agreement, she'll be eligible for a supermax deal worth $1.4 million.

The WNBA says the average salary will be $583,000. That should be about what solid veterans make—not quite stars, though still strong contributors to the team. Each team will have to decide how much to pay, but it'll be about four times the $125,000 to $150,000 range many mid-tier veterans made last year. Even the minimum salary is getting a huge bump; players with zero years of experience will make $270,000, with increases at various levels of WNBA service, up to $300,000 for players who have been in the league for a decade or longer.

What about a newer star, like Caitlin Clark or Cameron Brink? The new CBA restructured rookie deals, and that includes ones players are currently playing under. Clark and Brink, the first and second picks, respectively, in the 2024 draft, made $78,066 in salary last season.

The restructured contracts will increase their pay, reduced by 4% for each year they've been in the league. That means Clark and Brink will make about $530,000 during the 2026 season. Another feature of the new CBA is the Exceptional Performance on Initial Contract, or EPIC. Players named to All-WNBA teams or winning MVP would be eligible to sign three-year contract extensions before their fourth season begins. Clark will qualify for an EPIC extension.

As for incoming rookies, they'll see a nice bump, too. Last year, Paige Bueckers was the No. 1 pick, signing a four-year, $340,000 rookie contract. Her deal will get restructured, though the first pick of this season will have a $500,000 salary in her first season alone—significantly more than what Bueckers's entire deal had been worth.

The WNBA continues to increase in popularity as new stars enter the league. And that popularity means more money for everyone.