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The WNBA enjoyed a big boost in popularity during the 2024 season, with fans filling arenas around the league to catch a glimpse of the league’s rising stars like Caitlin Clark.
The surge in attendance and the prospects of a lucrative TV deal brings hope that player salaries that currently rank among the lowest in professional sports, will soon boom.
Unlike the highest paid NBA players who are set to rake in over $50 million each during the current campaign, the highest paid WNBA players earn just a small fraction of that, with top earners making just under $250,000.
However, with the WNBA’s biggest stars now commanding millions of dollars in endorsements, there’s increasing optimism that the league will soon turn a profit. The future has never looked so bright for WNBA players and their fans.
Highest Paid WNBA Players
Casual fans may be wondering why rookie sensations like Caitlin Clark and Angel Reese are not even close to being the highest paid WNBA player.
Stars like Clark and Reese deserve a big share of the credit for the WNBA’s increasing profile. However, under the terms of the most recent collective bargaining agreement, players do not have the opportunity to join the ranks of the highest paid until they have played at least three seasons in the league.
But don’t feel too bad for future Hall of Famers like Clark and Reese. They have more than made up for their low WNBA salaries with lucrative endorsement deals that have the potential to earn them tens of millions in the years to come.
Here is a look at who were the highest paid WNBA players in 2024.
| Rank | Player | Team | 2023/24 Salary | Total Value of Contract |
| 1 | Arike Ogunbowale | Dallas Wings | $241,984 | $725,952 |
| 2 | Jewell Loyd | Seattle Storm | $241,984 | $491,016 |
| 3 | Kahleah Copper | Phoenix Mercury | $241,984 | $490,118 |
| 4 | Diana Taurasi | Phoenix Mercury | $234,936 | $469,872 |
| 5 | Natasha Howard | Dallas Wings | $234,350 | $898,700 |
| 6 | Alyssa Thomas | Connecticut Sun | $218,000 | $836,000 |
| 7 | Azurá Stevens | Los Angeles Sparks | $215,000 | $385,000 |
| 8 | Brionna Jones | Connecticut Sun | $212,000 | $212,000 |
| 9 | Kelsey Mitchell | Indiana Fever | $212,000 | $618,000 |
| 10 | Napheesa Collier | Minnesota Lynx | $208,219 | $552,516 |
*Source: Spotrac.com
Who is the Highest Paid WNBA Player?
Three players closed out the 2024 season deadlocked as the highest paid WNBA player. Arike Ogunbowale, Jewell Loyd, and Kahleah Copper each earned $241,984 on supermax contracts, topping a list of 13 players, who made at least $200,000 this past season.
However, it’s put into perspective when you realize the average NBA referee salary is more than this. Although they certainly don’t benefit from lucrative sponsorship deals like WNBA players.
Read on to learn more about the highest paid WNBA players.
1. Arike Ogunbowale – Dallas Wings – 3 years / $725,952
The hero of the Notre Dame Fighting Irish’s march to a national championship in 2018, Arike Ogunbowale later went on to be selected fifth overall by the Dallas Wings in the 2019 WNBA Draft.
The Milwaukee native had an immediate impact in her rookie season, finishing third in scoring with 19.1 points per game and followed up by dropping a league-leading 22.8 points per game in 2020.
On her rookie deal, she earned four straight trips to the WNBA All-Star Game and she twice got the nod as All-Star Game MVP.
- Ogunbowale inked a three-year supermax contract extension at the end of her rookie contract.
- It made her the WNBA’s highest paid player.
- Her salary increase to a league-max $249,032 in 2025.
However, Ogunbowale’s personal success has not translated into success for the Wings.
The Texan team has won a total of just one playoff round since her arrival in Dallas and failed to reach the postseason in 2024.
2. Jewell Loyd – Seattle Storm – 2 years / $491,016
Selected first overall by the Seattle Storm in the 2015 WNBA Draft, Jewell Loyd has taken on a leadership role both in the WNBA and with the United States women’s national basketball team.
Like Ogunbowale, the “Gold Mamba” is a product of the vaunted Notre Dame Fighting Irish, whom she led to a berth in the national championship in 2015 that also garnered her ESPN Women’s National Player of the Year honors.
While it took Loyd a couple of seasons to establish herself as a WNBA star, there is no denying the impact she has had on the Storm’s fortunes.
With her offensive numbers steadily improving, Loyd led the Storm to WNBA championships in 2018 and 2020, and was also part of the US national team that took home Olympic gold in 2020 and 2024.
The 2023 WNBA scoring champion is set to make a supermax $249,032 in 2025, but before then, she will join Ogunbowale and 28 other WNBA stars this winter at Unrivaled, a new 3-on-3 pro league that is set to make its debut in January 2025.
3. Kahleah Copper – Phoenix Mercury – 2 years / $490,118
One of only three WNBA players to play on a supermax contract in 2024, veteran Kahleah Copper has also enjoyed one of the most spectacular rises to stardom in league history.
Drafted seventh overall by the Washington Mystics in 2016, Copper was subsequently dealt to the Chicago Sky.
- She spent much of her first four seasons playing off the bench before enjoying joining the ranks of the WNBA elite players in 2020.
- The 30-year-old earned her first WNBA All-Star Game invite in 2021.
- Copper followed that up by leading the Chicago Sky to a WNBA title that same season.
Now a member of the Phoenix Mercury, Copper has also had an impact playing overseas. She won the Spanish league and EuroLeague MVP honors with Perfumerias Avenida in 2021-2022 and is expected to spend this offseason playing 3-on-3 ball with Unrivaled.
4. Diana Taurasi – Phoenix Mercury – 2 years / $469,872
One of the WNBA’s elder stateswomen, Diana Taurasi is still having an impact with the Phoenix Mercury at the age of 42.
Selected first overall by the Mercury in the 2004 WNBA Draft, Taurasi has spent all 19 years of her pro career in the desert, where she has put together an impressive resume.
- She claimed WNBA Rookie of the Year honors in 2005.
- Has won the WNBA scoring title five times.
- Led the Mercury to the WNBA championship three times.
A lifelong winner, Taurasi also won the NCAA national championship three times as a member of the UCONN Huskies and has also raised championship hardware in the EuroLeague, Russian League, and Turkish National League.
While Taurasi’s scoring championship days are behind her, she maintains a huge leadership role in Phoenix, where she tallied 14.9 points per game in 2024. But with no contract in hand for 2025, her WNBA future remains in doubt.
5. Natasha Howard – Dallas Wings – 4 years / $898,700
The most traveled player on the list of the WNBA’s highest paid players, Natasha Howard has not yet decided where she will play the 2025 season.
Drafted fifth overall by the Indiana Fever in 2014, Howard has played for five teams during her decade in the WNBA, winning WNBA championships with Minnesota in 2017 and Seattle in 2018 and 2020.
- The 33-year-old is coming off the final season of a four-year deal with Dallas that paid her $234,350
- She is among the most coveted unrestricted free agents available this offseason.
- This is thanks to her exceptional two-way play that generated 17.6 points per game this past season and two previous selections to the WNBA All-Defensive First Team.
Highest Career Earnings WNBA
With expectations that WNBA salaries will continue to rise, the list of the highest earning players in WNBA history will get a makeover in the years to come.
But for now, the mantle of highest paid player in WNBA history belongs to Skylar Diggins-Smith.
The 30-year-old Seattle Storm guard has been ranked among the WNBA’s highest paid players since inking a four-year deal valued at over $450,000 back in 2016.
As a result, she has pulled in an average salary of over $200,000 in each of the past six seasons, but will have earned far more in endorsement deals.
Here’s a snapshot of the WNBA players with the highest career earnings as of the end of the 2024 season. The career top earners will soon change, as new, more lucrative contracts are signed.
| Rank | Player | Career WNBA Earnings | Years Active |
| 1 | Skylar Diggins-Smith | $1,564,919 | 10 |
| 2 | Courtney Vandersloot | $1,547,170 | 13 |
| 3 | Diana Taurasi | $1,385,416 | 19 |
| 4 | Brittney Griner | $1,318,450 | 10 |
| 5 | Nneka Ogwumike | $1,246,847 | 12 |
| 6 | Elena Delle Donne | $1,243,700 | 9 |
| 7 | Natasha Howard | $1,243,700 | 10 |
| 8 | DeWanna Bonner | $1,226,200 | 14 |
| 9 | Alyssa Thomas | $1,181,000 | 10 |
| 10 | Breanna Stewart | $1,148,450 | 7 |
What is the Average WNBA Salary?
In 2024, the average WNBA salary was $119,590 per year. The WNBA’s highest paid players earned around $241,984 on supermax contracts.
These max deals only are available to players signing an extension to their rookie-scale contract, or to veterans with five or more seasons of experience, who are re-signing with their existing club.
At the other end of the WNBA payroll spectrum, players on rookie contracts earn a minimum of $66,079 per year, which jumps to $78,831, starting in their third season in the league.
Caitlin Clark Salary
Caitlin Clark has quickly emerged as the face of the WNBA. But despite her speedy and profound impact on the league’s fortunes, the 22-year-old earned just $76,535 on her WNBA rookie contract.
However, WNBA fans should not feel too bad for Clark, who looks destined to one day become the WNBA’s highest paid player.
In the meantime, she should have little difficulty supplementing her modest WNBA salary. She’s currently generating income from a host of endorsement deals, signed even before the Indiana Fever made her the first overall pick in the 2024 WNBA Draft.
Among the corporate giants who have opened the vault for the reigning WNBA Rookie of the Year are State Farm, Gatorade, Panini, Eli Lilly and Gainbridge.
However, the endorsement deal that has captured the headlines is with Nike, which will reportedly pay her upwards of $28 million and is expected to feature a Caitlin Clark signature shoe.
Highest Paid WNBA Player: Key Points
While WNBA players have a long way to go before they take home paychecks that rival the likes of the highest paid NFL players and other major male leagues, the future does look bright.
The popularity generated by the arrival of a new generation of stars like Caitlin Clark likely suggests that WNBA stars will start seeing big pay hikes.
Those hopes are buoyed by the league’s recent TV deal with Disney, Amazon Prime and NBC that will earn the WNBA about $200 million per year over the next 11 years.
But while that is good news, expectations for higher salaries must be tempered by harsh economic reality. The WNBA has lost money in each of its 27 seasons and is reportedly set to end 2024 with a loss of as much as $40 million.
The WNBA’s next generation of stars, including Clark and Reese, are already reaping benefits from endorsement deals that dwarf their meager WNBA rookie contracts. However, for most WNBA players, big boosts in salaries are unlikely to come until the league stops bleeding red ink.
