If you’re talking about the best defensive guards in the WNBA, DiJonai Carrington has to top that list in 2024. The Connecticut Sun player makes rival guards shiver in any matchup. Carrington is also up for the 2024 Most Improved Player Award, having become a double-figure scorer. And with her game elevating, the big bucks will follow. Here’s a look at her 2024 salary and career earnings.

Carrington joined the Connecticut Sun as the 20th overall pick in the 2021 WNBA draft. The former Stanford (2016-2020) and Baylor (2020-2021) alum had a slow start to her WNBA career, scoring only 68 points in her rookie year. 2022 was a considerable upgrade as she scored 244 points and secured 112 rebounds. Come 2024, she is averaging a career-high 12.7 points, 5.0 rebounds, and 1.6 steals, compared to 2023’s 8.3 points, 2.9 rebounds. and 0.6 steals.

She is definitely validating her 3-year, 6-figure contract of $193,370 that she signed with the Sun in 2021. That made her average annual salary $64,457, towards the lower end of the earning spectrum where the average is around $150,000. However, in 2023, the Sun announced that they exercised an option in Carrington’s contract for a 4th year with the team in 2024. Consequently, her base salary increased to $78,469 for 2024.

This takes her WNBA career earnings to $271,389. Carrington had also announced being an ambassador for Rihanna’s lingerie brand, Savage x Fenty. She has also endorsed Kim Kardashian’s SKIMS when it became the official partner of the WNBA in 2024. This is only the start of something even bigger because Carrington is set to earn double her salary in 2025, and that too in less than half the time.

DiJonai Carrington joins Unrivaled Basketball League with mammoth payout

DiJonai Carrington’s mentality is what sets her apart from other defensive players. The 5-foot-11 guard treats every possession as her last, choking the opponents for room. “Sometimes you get tired, but I don’t want to let my teammates down. That’s every single possession,” she passionately told Mark Schindler of TGNWNBA ahead of the Sun’s last regular season game. “It’s just the mentality of knowing that you have to be locked in.”

This has taken her to the Unrivaled women’s basketball league founded by Breanna Stewart and Napheesa Collier. The grand inaugural season of this 3v3 professional league kicks off in January 2025 in Miami. Carrington was the 19th player to confirm her participation two weeks ago. As per SBNation, each of the 30 players competing will get a minimum $150,000 salary plus player equity.

In addition to this payout, Carrington will also face off against the best of the best, making a strong case for a richer 2025 WNBA contract. But she might not necessarily have to prove herself there for a contract extension. Connecticut Sun’s head coach Stephanie White has assured that Carrington’s improved gameplay hasn’t gone “unnoticed”. 

“She sets the tone for us on both ends of the floor with her aggressiveness. She’s the juice, right?” White told reporters ahead of the season finale against the Chicago Sky. “And to have to bring the juice every single night is not easy, and she’s done that — and that is not something that’s gone unnoticed by our staff, for sure.”