Way Richer Than Caitlin Clark, Who Are WNBA’s Top 5 Highest Paid Players?

The 2024 edition of the WNBA tournament is just around the corner. With the addition of so many rookies, this season is expected to be a blockbuster. However, the one aspect that continues to be a hot topic amongst fans is the salaries that these women hoopers are collecting from the institution. 

After endless debates regarding the salary disparities between male and female athletes, it’s essential to have a fair knowledge of how much these female stars make. On top of that, which are the noteworthy names that are topping the charts and earning the maximum amount?

Which WNBA players have the best package?

At the fifth spot is a WNBA veteran who needs no introduction. For almost than two decades, Diana Taurasi has been stalwart figure at the professional level. So, it is only fitting that her name makes its presence known in this list. The 41-year-old earns around $234,936 as per her annual contract. This number is expected to rise, considering, she is a one-time league MVP, three-time WNBA champion, two-time WNBA Finals MVP, and 10-time WNBA All-Star. 

At the fourth position is the eminent Dallas Wings guard Arike Ogunbowale. A national champion with Notre Dame, the 27-year-old didn’t go through much trouble settling into the professional shoes. Moreover, she built quite a resume over the years. She is a 3x WNBA All-Star, the 2021 WNBA All-Star Game MVP, and the 2020 All-WNBA First Team. This resulted in a contract extension of three years which promises her $241,984 annually.

Making her way into the top 3 is Taurasi’s teammate Kahleah Copper. The fellow guard has had quite an inspirational journey. She has gone from being a benchwarmer in the Mystics to being a WNBA Finals MVP with Chicago in 2021. Anyhow, she will now be a part of the Phoenix locker room courtesy of the recent trade she went through in February. Still, she will receive a paycheck of $245,059 by the end of every year.

If anyone thought that these numbers are huge, wait till we have a look at our two top earners in the WNBA.

Who occupies the top two positions?

A No.1 overall draft pick in 2015, Jewell Loyd became a prolific and permanent face for the Seattle Storm. After being the 2015 WNBA Rookie of the Year, her next 9 years saw her collecting many awards. She became a 2× WNBA champion, 5× WNBA All-Star, WNBA All-Star Game MVP, and a Commissioner’s Cup champion. In addition to this, last year, she ended the season by being the WNBA scoring leader. As a result, the Storm provided her two-year extension along with $245,508 annually.

This may not come as a surprise for many but the top WNBA earner is the back-to-back WNBA champion with the Las Vegas Aces Jackie Young. Being a prominent face for the Aces since 2019, Young has proven time and again why she was the franchise’s No.1 overall pick in 2019. The 26-year-old made sure to step up to the expectations of the management and was key to their consecutive championships. This ensured that she became the highest-paid women’s basketball player ever by receiving an annual amount of $252,450. 

Meanwhile, the new additions in this year’s draft are also headlining with their respective contracts.

How much are the rookies making this season?

As per the WNBA draft tracker, the first four draft picks will receive an identical salary from their respective franchises. So, Caitlin Clark, Cameron Brink, Kamilla Cardoso, and Rickea Jackson will be drawing an average of $84,514 as rookies. The next four, that are Jacy Sheldon, Aaliyah Edwards, Angel Reese, and Alissa Pili, are promised $324,383 in their 4 years which will result in them making $3418 less annually than the first four. As for the final four first-round picks, their salaries amount to $310,718 which ensures $77,680 in their first year. 

These numbers sure appear to be less in comparison to their male counterparts. Nonetheless, these women athletes are slowly but gradually grabbing a lot of traction among fans which can result in massive increments in their earnings in the near future. In addition to this, the craze and hype that the new recruits have created can’t be ignored. As it turns out, for the first time in history big guns of the leagues, including the consecutive champions Las Vegas Aces, are shifting their games to bigger arenas for more crowd intake. 

On top of that, many rookies including the likes of Caitlin Clark and Angel Reese have already sold out their jerseys without even touching the ball for the team. College basketball fans have also shifted to the WNBA to continue the craze that the NCAA has seen in the last couple of years. Moreover, this year, many broadcasting companies have joined hands with the WNBA to show their games live, these include ESPN and Amazon Prime amongst many others.

As the WNBA Commissioner Cathy Engelbert said, this year is undeniably going to be a transformative one for the league and a golden one in its entire history. It will be interesting how these rookies turn the tables for their teams this season, starting May 14, 2024.