At $102,249, the average WNBA salary in 2025 feels both promising and long overdue. This salary indicates progress as the league’s influence and fan engagement continue to grow, but it still represents a landscape that hasn’t fully caught up with the athletes’ worth. The range of player compensation, from rookies negotiating minimum contracts to All-Stars receiving the supermax, is wide and constantly changing, and it is currently coming under more scrutiny from fans, economists, and the players themselves.
The league’s broadcast ratings and attendance both significantly increased over the previous season. This momentum has boosted the WNBA’s financial future, especially when combined with a historic $2.2 billion media rights deal that will begin in 2026. However, the reality for 2025 is still based on a system in which rookie contracts start at $66,079, while the highest paid players, such as Kelsey Mitchell, Jewell Loyd, and Arike Ogunbowale, make nearly $249,000. When compared to the NBA, where the average salary now exceeds $10 million, these numbers are especially striking.
| Salary Detail | Amount (USD) |
|---|---|
| Average WNBA Salary (2025) | $102,249 |
| Supermaximum Player Salary | $249,244 |
| Maximum Standard Salary | $214,466 |
| Minimum Salary (0–2 YOS) | $66,079 |
| Minimum Salary (3+ YOS) | $78,831 |
| Team Salary Cap | $1,507,100 |
| Team Payroll Minimum | $1,261,440 |
| Number of Players Surveyed | 222 |
A number of elite players are setting themselves up for a financial reset in line with the increased revenue stream for the upcoming season by utilizing one-year contracts. Several veterans, including Breanna Stewart and Skylar Diggins-Smith, opted for short-term contracts this offseason in anticipation of a markedly better pay scale in 2026. Their approach is motivated by hope, but it also stems from a deep-seated annoyance with a system that has been sluggish to fairly reward performance and brand value.
Many WNBA players started using digital platforms to spread the word about pay disparities and make their voices heard during the pandemic. Supported by evidence and popular opinion, that advocacy spurred more extensive discussions about equitable pay, revenue sharing, and systemic inequality. During a recent podcast, Kelsey Plum explained it very clearly: NBA-level pay is not what WNBA players are requesting. The same proportion of revenue is what they are requesting. Players in the NBA get half of the money made from basketball. That percentage is still limited to 20% in the WNBA.
This disparity has turned into a hot spot in labor and equity talks. Expectations have increased along with the average salary. For instance, Caitlin Clark, who has become one of the league’s most commercially significant figures, will only make slightly less than $79,000 in 2025. Her influence on television ratings, ticket sales, and merchandise far outweighs her salary. Erin Kane, her agent, highlighted this disparity by saying that, at least under the current model, Clark is unlikely to ever be paid what the WNBA values her.
Several teams went over or nearly hit the league’s $1.5 million salary cap during the offseason. With a payroll that was just over the cap at $1,530,746, the Las Vegas Aces led all teams. Clubs like the Washington Mystics, meanwhile, kept their budgets smaller, underscoring the continuous conflict between roster depth and cap flexibility. Players and team managers alike are quietly embracing a system that rewards both stability and star power as a result of these financial dynamics.
There have been some revolutionary changes in the WNBA’s player compensation policy over the years. Players made an average of only $28,000 when the league first started in 1997. American athletes depended on foreign clubs to augment their earnings for many years. At the request of her Russian team, which paid her almost $1.5 million, more than ten times her earnings in the United States, Diana Taurasi famously skipped the 2015 WNBA season. Her statement, “We had to go to a communist country to get paid like capitalists,” is still relevant today.
By 2020, conditions had significantly improved thanks to a new collective bargaining agreement. The upper salary cap increased to $215,000. For the first time, the average salary surpassed six figures. Additionally, players were given access to travel upgrades, performance bonuses, and chances to profit from team marketing agreements. For mid-tier players who were previously close to the salary floor, these improvements were especially helpful. The updates provided a stronger financial foundation for the league’s top players, but they did not yet bring about revolutionary change.
Comparisons of NBA and WNBA earnings have generated new discussion in recent days. The WNBA’s trajectory seems noticeably accelerated, but the NBA’s financial machinery is decades ahead. Commercial investment is being fueled by a surge of interest in women’s college basketball, digital media, and NIL stars entering the draft. Paige Bueckers, who was selected first overall in 2025, had a base salary of $78,831 when she joined the league. However, her social value could be worth millions of dollars based on metrics like sponsorship and followers.
Many athletes are diversifying their revenue streams beyond base salaries by incorporating wider revenue streams like sponsorship, endorsements, and appearance fees. However, only a select few marketable celebrities frequently have access to these channels. The most reliable source of income for most people is still their base salary. Raising the average has therefore been a crucial criterion for union leaders pushing for reform.
The league is getting closer to becoming a financially viable career choice for more players—rather than merely a seasonal job that requires travel abroad to make ends meet—through strategic alliances and enhanced visibility. The league has made progress, as the average salary for 2025 is just over $102,000. However, a lot of people contend that it isn’t accelerating quickly enough to keep up with the athletes’ own momentum.
The financial future of women’s professional basketball will be shaped over the course of the upcoming year by negotiations surrounding the next collective bargaining agreement. The timing feels especially good as fan excitement peaks and new funding is imminent. The players are united in their message as discussions take place behind the scenes: it’s about more equitable contracts, not just bigger ones.
In the end, the 2025 average WNBA salary provides a helpful gauge of advancement but may not fully capture the situation. It shows a league starting to realize its full economic potential, changing priorities, and growing expectations. It remains to be seen if the upcoming round of contracts fulfills that commitment, but the momentum is definitely increasing and the direction is obvious.
