The Number That Should Make You Stop
Last year, the WNBA's minimum salary was $66,000. Let that sit for a second. Professional athletes — playing at the highest level of their sport, in a league that generated enough revenue to trigger its first-ever profit-sharing payout in 2025 — were earning less than the starting salary of a mid-level marketing coordinator. That's over now. The WNBA and its players association just ratified a landmark 7-year collective bargaining agreement. And the numbers are not small adjustments. They're a complete rethinking of what professional women's basketball is worth. The minimum salary is going to $270-$300K. The average climbs to $583K. The salary cap quadruples. The supermax hits $1.4 million — the first time in WNBA history a player will earn that kind of money. [1] This isn't a new deal. It's a new era.
What the Numbers Actually Mean
The headline figures are dramatic enough. Salary cap goes from $1.5 million to $7 million in year one — a 450% increase — and is projected to grow past $11 million by 2032. [1] That's not a rounding error, that's a structural revaluation. But here's the piece that really matters: for the first time in WNBA history, player salaries are now directly tied to league revenue. [2] Not tied in the old way, where there was a theoretical revenue-sharing mechanism that required hitting an escalating annual target no one actually expected to reach. Tied for real — players will receive an average of 20% of league revenue over the life of the deal, up from 9.3% under the previous CBA. [2] For context, NBA players split revenue roughly 50-50 with owners. WNBA players were at 9.3%. The gap was absurd. Twenty percent still isn't 50%, but it's a real number that moves with the business. If the league grows — and with new national TV deals worth $200M+ annually kicking in this season — players get a meaningful share of that growth. Other notable changes: the No. 1 overall pick in this year's draft makes $500K. [1] Every rookie scale contract is being adjusted upward. Players on rookie deals who earn MVP or All-WNBA honors can earn max contracts in year four — which means Caitlin Clark could be on a max deal in 2027. [3] Charter travel for everyone. League-provided housing through 2028. Better medical staffing. A one-time recognition payout for retired players. [1] The whole thing was ratified unanimously, with over 90% player participation in the vote. That's not a grudging approval. That's a locker room that won.
