highest paid wnba player highest paid wnba player

But its less clear how our women stack up against each other. Bueckers has endorsement deals with Crocs, Nerf, Bose, Gatorade, and StockX. Some of the WNBA's biggest stars are currently free agents in search of new contracts, including Breanna Stewart andCourtney Vandersloot. Candace also has a lucrative contract as an NBA analyst for Turner Sports. She signed a two year $463,030 contract last offseason, giving her an annual salary of $231,515. And shes only been in the league seven years! Breanna earns approximately $1.5 million per season overseas reported ESPN. With new coaches, a stacked rookie class, and an abundance of superstars across the league's 12 teams, the WNBA's 26th season is poised to be one of the most exciting yet. The WNBA's minimum for a player with zero to two years of experience is $58,710, while vets with three or more years of experience earn a minimum of $70,040. Also Who is the lowest paid WNBA player? When asked if overseas money was life-changing by60 Minutes,Sue Birdsaid it was for her. She is playing as Shooting guard for Seattle Storm. Why Do College Basketball Teams Cut Down The Net? And Diana and Sue Bird were instrumental in seeing to it that members of Team USA were paid decent wages for their training. Valentina Shevchenko vs Alexa Grasso Purse Payouts | What Will be there share in UFC 285 Potential Bonus? Liz herself said, in 2018: Ive said this many times. 7. The Ace's core remains young and hungry after their first taste of winning, but can they do it again next season? In 2020, the leagues latest collective bargaining agreement bumped the maximum salary for the highest-paid players from $117,500 to $215,000. its no wonder why Liz Cambages earnings ar eup there. Highest-paid WNBA Players of 2022 by Total Salary Dollar figures via Spotrac based on a 2022 salary cap of $1,379,170. WNBA Salary Rankings | Spotrac WNBA Salary Rankings Listing the top salaries, cap hits, cash, earnings, contracts, and bonuses, for all active WNBA players. We arrived at that modest figure by calculating that far more than an average overseas salary of $400,000 equals at least $1 million. While these might not necessarily be the exact total pay figures for players, we did the best we could directionally. She was named the WNBA MVP in 2018 and was named. Basketball icon Sue Bird, who plays for the Storm in what is her last season before retiring, is making the same amount as thats also the leagues veteran minimum salary. Another option for teams would be to assign players to a league-assigned minimum salary contract for a maximum of two years. Hansel Enmanuel. Since Sues team, the Seattle Storm, won the 2020 WNBA Championship, each player pockets an additional $11,536 for that feat. Shes made our list for all the other money shes raked in beyond being a WNBA rock star. weve reduced salary costs to buying wins, Top 10: Who is the Best WNBA Player of All Time? And I take my off-season and use it to explore other opportunitieslike my basketball camps. And Jay Zs company has boded well for Skylar. Shes also currently a member of Team USA. She is proficient at getting to her spot and knocking down jumpers at the most crucial moments. The lowest-paid player in the WNBA is Mercurys Kaela Davis. 4. But if womens college basketball can come close to competing with mens college basketball during tournament time, the WNBA should be able to draw more eyes. [5] Finally, the rookie player exception allows any NBA team to sign their first-round draft pick to a contract based upon a scale previously set forth by the NBA. She continues to break records both offensively and defensively. Cynthia Lynne Cooper-Dyke - UB-Barca, CREFF. Basically, knowledge is power! To the confusion of CBA novices, eighth-year players Brittney Griner and Skylar Diggins-Smith both out-earned teammate and resident GOAT Diana Taurasi in 2020 by nearly $100,000. However, some still manage to make 6 figures for their incredible performances. The average mens tournament game averaged 10.7 million viewers per game. And before the first games tip off on Friday, Insider took a look at the league's highest-paid players on each team based on Spotrac's salary figures. Thanks to the hard-fought increases in the 2020 CBA (thank you Nneka! To that point, Taurasis most recent contract was negotiated under the previous CBA, leaving her criminally underpaid. True W fans know that Elena Delle Donne has been one of the top earners in the W for a hot minute, and it's well deserved. In this list we examine the top 10 highest paid college basketball players as of February 2023. The highest paid players in the WNBA in 2022 are those with super-maximum contracts. However, in order to help the Storm retain key talent in 2022, Sue took at pay cut down to a mere $72,141. Considering Liz was making $117,500 in that year, a quick calculation tells us that her overseas contracts have been close to $1 million dollars a year. He has deals with Adidas, Campus Ink, Merchants Bank of Indiana, Turnstone Center, and Push Paddle or Pedal. NBA Player Salaries - 2022-2023 . The perpetually rebuilding New York Liberty traded for the three-time champ and 2019 DefensivePlayer of the Year Natasha Howard, whom they will reward with $221,000 this year; the Libs also scored 2020 Wubble breakthrough star Betnijah Laney in free agency, and she, in turn, will take home a max salary of $190,550. Paige Bueckers is one of the highest earning college basketball players, with an NIL value of $822,000.Bueckers, a junior, is a star guard at the University of Connecticut. @megsterr. Seven players from five different teams will earn the WNBA supermax salary of. Magic Johnson became the first player to earn $10 million or more in the 94-95 season with a salary of $14,660,000. Liz medically opted out of the 2020 WNBA season due to the coronavirus pandemic, so she didnt earn any bonus or award money. often in parts of the world that many Americans would not want to visit themselves. Elsewhere around the league, star players are enjoying new lucrative contracts. She is holding the most ludicrous contract deal with WNBAs club. And the viewership is increasing rapidly. She is also signed for next season with UMMC. The women's basketball players who make the most money are typically the best players in the game. Your login session has expired. Who is the highest paid WNBA player in the world right now? The highest paid WNBA players are certainly not paid enough. No doubt, this WNBA veteran is a superstar. The Phoenix Mercury point guard also earned the title of having the most All-WNBA First Team honors a total of 10! After spending the past two years in her hometown of Chicago, the two-time MVP decided to sign with the reigning champs in Las Vegas. Shes part of Carmelo Anthonys basketball video lessons program, and she was the first woman on the cover of NBA 2K. She also has 4.2 million TikTok followers, making her one of the most followed collegiate athletes in the United States.Haley, like her sister, has endorsement deals with Under Armour, Raising Canes, Intuit TurboTax, and Victoria's Secret PINK. Women National Basketball Association is the top tier league which gave a new turn to basketball world by providing opportunity to female athletes to show their talent. The third highest salary on the 2022 championship Las Vegas Aces roster was all-star guard Kelsey Plum. She played for Dallas Wings from the beginning of her career before making a move to Phoenix Mercury in 2020 for which she is currently playing for. Loyd was the first overall pick in 2015 after an illustrious career at Notre Dame, going to two national championship games. WWE Wrestlers Who Served In Military | How It Impact Their Careers In Wrestling? Shes been named league MVP twice, has been an All-Star 5 times, including being named the All-Star MVP in 2013. It will be interesting to see what the Storm can accomplished with an even larger role carved out for Jewell Loyd. And its easy to see that theres a good chance Candace made close to $1.5 million dollars during her overseas reign. This alone should be enough to argue for higher average WNBA salaries than the status quo, but we have two more points still to convince you further. Check out the highest-paid player on each WNBA team for the 2022 campaign below: Top editors give you the stories you want delivered right to your inbox each weekday. Brittney Griners ongoing detention is Russia, This is a great book detailing the history of professional Womens basketball, The Highest WNBA salary is $228,000 while in the NBA its over $45 million. Bates was dismissed from Memphis following legal troubles and now finds himself at Eastern Michigan. Jackie Young of the Aces has an average annual salary of $252,450 and is currently the WNBA's highest-paid player in 2023. That means the highest paid WNBA players only make about 1.8 times as much as the average WNBA salary. If you buy something from a link on our site, Queen Ballers Club may earn a commission. Salaries will continue to rise in the years to come, as the WNBA's salary cap will increase by three percent annually. In fact, Deloitte predicts elite womens sport revenues could top almost a billion dollars next year. Sherly is third on the list of the highest paid WNBA players with 99,500$ per year. WNBA stars Diana Taurasi, Breanna Stewart, and Jewell Loyd earn the most money in the WNBA, putting them among the highest paid athletes of all time. So today, we break down potential revenue streams for our favorite female athletes. DeWanna Bonner, Elena Delle Donne and Skylar Diggins-Smith aren't far behind. She is currently recovering from a torn ACL. This is over half of the average viewership for an average NFL game, the undisputed king of American sports from a viewership and revenue perspective. List of highest paid Major League Baseball players, "Kobe Bryant to Become NBA's Second Ever $30-Million Player", "The NBA's 25 highest-paid players for the 2016-17 season", https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Highest-paid_NBA_players_by_season&oldid=1142898961, National Basketball Association statistical leaders, Employee compensation in the United States, Short description with empty Wikidata description, Wikipedia pages semi-protected against vandalism, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License 3.0, This page was last edited on 4 March 2023, at 22:55. 1- Liz Cambage; The Highest Paid WNBA Player Liz Cambage plays in the Las Vegas Aces and is 29 years old. But currently, she plays in Russia for the UMMC Ekaterinburg team, where she continues to astound on the court. Scott Rafferty is a Senior NBA Editor for The Sporting News. Here are the top 10: 1 . Tiffany Hayes ($215,000) is the highest-paid player for the Atlanta Dream for the second consecutive year. The NBA was a tiny league that nearly collapsed multiple times. To me, this says that viewers are interested in watching womens sports. Top highest paid NBA players in 2021. If you adjust the WNBA revenue in this way, then the NBAs revenue is only 50 times the WNBAs revenue on a per team basis. Kobe Bryant became just the second player to reach $30 million when the 201314 season began. We may earn some commission if you were to buy something via our affiliate links, Top 10 Most Selling Football Boots In The World | Nike Mercurial Vapor Tops The List As Used By Ronaldo, Mbappe & Neymar, Top 10 Most Expensive Injuries In Football, The Best Apps/Websites to Watch MF & DAZN X Series 005 Live Online | 5 March 2023, The Best Apps/Websites To Watch Jay Swingler vs Nicholai Perrett Live Online | 5 March 2023. In addition to their WNBA yearly salaries, there are other variables in the equation: endorsement deals, overseas contracts, and merit bonuses awarded to each player based on their individual and team achievements. Each player is making the supermax salary of $228,094. Young is set to make $252,450 this season.. Astonishing fact: Despite making our list of the highest paid WNBA players, Skylar has never lined her pockets by playing overseas! Shes a American small forward for Washington Mystics in WNBA, joining the team in 2017. - The Data Jocks, Rapid revenue growth and the ratio of revenue to player salary, The ratio of highest paid WNBA players to the average salary. Absolutely, she said. Brittney signed a lucrative endorsement deal with Nike seven years ago in her rookie year. See the highest and lowest player salaries in the NBA on ESPN.com. The total revenue for the WNBA is about $60 million while in the NBA it is about $7.6 billion. The Mercury secured a playoff spot but was knocked out during the 2nd round. She pulls in almost $1 million per season abroad, which far outweighs her top-dollar WNBA salary. No matter how you slice it, the pay gap in the WNBA versus the NBA is remarkable. Jalen Wilson is a forward for the Kansas University Jayhawks mens basketball team, who has an NIL value of $914,000.Wilson has been a star for the Jayhawks, averaging 11.8 points and 7.9 rebounds per game in his freshman season. The minimum salary for an WNBA player with two years of service will rise from $42,728 annually to $57,000 beginning in 2020. Sue has been with Nike since 2003. She has been with the Dream since she first entered the league in 2o12 after being selected 14th overall in the draft. Why? [4] Next, the bi-annual exception can be used by teams every other year to sign a free agent(s) for up to two years at an amount set by the NBA. Sue is also a part of Team USA. Hailey Van Lith is one of the highest earning college basketball players, with an NIL value of $526,000.Van Lith, who is a junior point guard at Louisville, is known as one of the best college basketball players in the nation. That is a lot of money , especially compared to what teachers get paid. Putting $5,150 in Skylars pocket. We have three points and reasons why we think the average WNBA salary and the league revenue as a whole is set to explode. Even just a small increase in income in the WNBA revenue will lead to more equitable salaries for these players who are the best of the best. In addition to Roc Nation, Skylar also has deals with Sprint and Nike. Get ready for the 2023 WNBA season: Save 23% on your subscription! Due to injuries and other factors, Sue hasnt played overseas since 2014. The 65 point guard is expected to be a future first round NBA Draft pick. Basketball icon, WNBA salaries: Who has the highest, league average, more. Magic Johnson became the first player to earn $10 million or more in the 94-95 season with a salary of $14,660,000. And being named to the 2020 All-WNBA Second Team adds another merit bonus to her cap. Outside of Young, other names on the list of the highest-paid WNBA players include Arike Ogunbowale of the Dallas Wings, Jewell Loyd of the Seattle Storm and Phoenix Mercury guard Skylar Diggins. Be the first one to comment on this story. Opponents to increasing the WNBA player salaries at this point will say you cant just adjust a 12-team league to a 30-team league and assume that the numbers will work themselves out! This is an interesting point but in the next section we argue the exact opposite. The Mercury made it to the second round of the playoffs in 2020, but lost to the Minnesota Lynx. Skylar Diggins . Who is the highest-paid player in the WNBA? Womens sports events have demonstrated their mass-market appeal, and thus monetary potential, on multiple occasionsIn sports where mens and womens games have relatively equal marketing support, their commercial impact has been roughly equivalent. And wed like to see as much of that money as possible go into our players pockets. Brittney is a powerhouse when it comes to overseas play and shes compensated pretty well for it. In this article well list a few reasons and statistics why we think the average WNBA salary is lower than it should be. The average NBA player makes about 60x as much as the average WNBA player. Who is the highest-paid WNBA player? Three franchises the Dallas Wings, Los Angeles Sparks, and Las Vegas Aces do not have a single player taking home $200,000 or more this season. If the leagues popularity continues to increase as it is, the average WNBA salary will follow suit. A teacher makes approximately $35,000-$55,000 yearly. uolas Tubelis is a Lithuanian-born player who currently plays for the Arizona Wildcats as a junior power forward and has an NIL value of $787,000.With 10,500 followers on Instagram, 31,000 on TikTok, and 1,100 on Twitter, he is currently part of the Arizona Assist Club.While he has no NIL deals currently, his growing value will likely ensure that he receives some prominent deals in the future. Heres everything you need to know about salaries in the WNBA (all numbers via Spotrac): In terms of base salaries, three athletes are tied for the highest-paid player in the WNBA: Seattle Storm stars Jewell Loyd and Breanna Stewart and Phoenix Mercury icon Diana Taurasi. Which earned Brittney another $1,803 dollars in bonus cash. Flau'jae Johnson is one of the highest earning college basketball players, with an NIL value of $612,000.Johnson is a freshman standout, combo-guard, at Louisiana State University. The WNBA is a very new league, only having been founded in the late 1990s. Or learn how salary impacts WNBA free agency. Speaking engagements net current WNBA players anywhere between $10,000 $50,000, plus Liz is a DJ! But award money calculations are based off of 2020 results. I'm being paid same as Pistons' Jackson; In 2022, shell make $227,900 from her Phoenix Mercury contract. So she pockets an additional $11,536 for that feat. The Best Apps/Websites to Watch Figueroa vs Magsayo Live Online Free | 4 March 2023, Best Apps/Websites to Watch Jon Jones vs Ciryl Gane Live Online Free In UFC 285, The Best Websites/Apps to Watch UFC 285 Live Online For Free. Although the Storm enjoyed a trip to the semifinals last season, they will have a large gap to fill with the retirement of Sue Bird. On this Wikipedia the language links are at the top of the page across from the article title. However, we expect WNBA viewership to increase rapidly in the near future. Double trouble. Some argue that if not for the brilliant rivalry between Larry Bird and Magic Johnson, the league might not be anywhere near where it was today. Copyright 2017-2023 Rookie Road Inc. All rights reserved. Copyright 2023 Sporting News Holdings Limited. But she recently signed deals with life insurance company Symetra (along with her life partner, Megan Rapinoe). Deals can't be officially signed until Feb. 1. Seems like the top spots are dominated by the Connecticut Suns and Seattle Storm huh? So she will now receive close to $100,000 to train for United States. The American-Macedonian professional player is playing as a shooting guard for the Connecticut Sun in Womens National Basketball Association. When comparing college leagues, the men draw about 15 times more viewers than the women. He has deals with Dollar Shave Club, Walkers Furniture, Goli Nutrition, and Preediction. Of course, athletes dont always see all their endorsement earnings in a single year, but weve included the guesstimated total amount for simplification. The salaries and endorsements deals of DeWanna has contributed greatly to make her net worth touch the $1.5 million mark and making her the 4th highest paid women basketball player. The current record-holder for most points scored in a WNBA game an astonishing 53 points! Shes also won a championship with the Los Angeles Sparks, for whom she was the first-round pick in 2008. Skylar Diggins-Smith. Yahoo! At TheDataJocks, though, we take a starkly different perspective. WNBA stars Diana Taurasi, Breanna Stewart, andJewell Loyd earn the most money in the WNBA, puttingthemamongthe highest paid athletesof all time. Candace Parker Ned Dishman/NBAE via Getty Images. And they might feel threatened to share their salary information with peers who they feel they are competing for dollars with. 1. Here are the top. Since then, she is leading a glorious career. Breanna Stewart, a famous American basketball player is the 2nd highest paid WNBA player globally, having net worth of $1.7 million. Enmanuel has deals with major companies such as Adidas, Gatorade, T-Mobile, and Dreamer.He famously appeared in commercials for Gatorade and in a commercial for rapper J. Coles Dreamer collaboration with Puma. The NCAA womens college basketball tournament has been played since the late 1970s. Overall, the average annual salaries in the NBA are much higher than in the WNBA. NBA players get paid more because their league makes more money, full stop. Who is the lowest-paid player in the WNBA? There is a significant appetite for professional womens sports. WNBA stars also earn lucrative endorsement deals worth millions per year off the court. t-1. The highest paid WNBA player this year is a tie between Breanna Stewart, Diana Taurasi, and Jewell Lloyd each making just over $228,000 this year. Winner gets $1 to break the tie. Below are the WNBA players who are paid the highest. Plus Skylars additional endorsements and her work as a Phoenix Suns broadcasts as analyst, altogether which weve guess-timated to be near $500,000. Chelsea Gray is a hardened veteran, and one of the best shotmakers in the league. If you dont give any extra thought to the above numbers, WNBA players make more money relative to their league revenue than NBA players do. Most Expensive UFC Fighters Contracts Deals. In the NBA, the same ratio is about 4.7. Candaces bread and butter come from her lucrative endorsement deals, which reportedly net her a whopping $3 million dollars! Who is the highest-paid player in the WNBA? Top 10 highest paid players in the WNBA. Once that happens, WNBA salaries will reach the place where they should be for the entertainment value they are capable of providing. Image credit: (Photo by Ned Dishman/NBAE via Getty Images). In 2021, they hit the floor with Chicago native Candace Parker, who stands as the second-highest earner on the team at $195,000. Also, there was no 2020 All-Star game, which wouldve netted players chosen a bonus of $2,575. The lowest-paid player in the WNBA is Mercurys. 1. Richest Female Basketball Players and Their Net WorthRichest Female WNBA PlayersCandace Parker Sue Bird Breanna Stewart Lisa LeslieElena Delle Donne Kelsey P. Like, Im a millionaire because of it. So we can average out the 11 seasons she did play in Russia at a modest $1,000,000. Phoenix Mercuryteammates Skylar Diggins-Smithand Brittany Grinerarenot far behind on therichest woman basketballplayers list. Shes racked up quite a resume. Brandon Figueroa vs Mark Magsayo Purse Payouts | How Much Both Fighters Will Earn from PPV Fight? Knocked out in the second round of the playoffs, the Phoenix Mercury, Skylars current team, earned her a team bonus of $1,803. Bailey has 567,000 followers on Instagram, commanding a large social media presence.Bailey is signed to Roc Nation Sports, and so far has just one deal with Ethika. Out of those ten players chosen that year, Kobe Bryant was the only player that was also among the game's ten highest-paid during the 201011 NBA season.[6]. The ratio of the highest paid WNBA player to the 144th best paid WNBA player is about 3.8. Here's the list of the top 25 highest paid players in the WNBA in 2022: Breanna Stewart: Seattle Storm - $228,094 Diana Taurasi: Phoenix Mercury - $228,094 Jewell Loyd: Seattle Storm - $228,094 Brittney Griner: Phoenix Mercury - $227,900 DeWanna Bonner: Connecticut Sun - $227,900 Elena Delle Donne: Washington Mystics - $227,900 Jay Swingler vs Nicholai Perrett Purse Payouts | How Much Both Earn from PPV Money? They are Diana Taurasi, Breanna Stewart, and Jewell Loyd. She has 1.2 million followers across all platforms.Johnson has endorsement deals with HighlightHER, Puma, Meta, Taco Bell, and POWERHANDZ.Johnson is also a rapper who announced her commitment to LSU in her own song. Skylar has as a very successful WNBA career playing basketball at the highest level. But that doesnt mean that the average WNBA salary should be so low that its employees are compelled to play year round in overseas leagues, often in parts of the world that many Americans would not want to visit themselves. There is simply no reason that womens college basketball should bring in more money than womens professional basketball. Earning a second WNBA title and a second WNBA Finals MVP award. The 24-year-old guard made her first All-Star team last year after averaging 15.9 points, 4.4 rebounds and 3.9 assists. Highest Paid WNBA Players 5 - Skylar Diggins Smith 4 - DeWanna Bonner 3 - Elena Delle Donne 2 - Breanna Stewart 1 - Jewell Loyd Top 10 Highest Paid WNBA Players Women National Basketball Association is the top tier league which gave a new turn to basketball world by providing opportunity to female athletes to show their talent. Borderline unstoppable in this years playoffs, Gray helped the Aces win their first WNBA title en route to her first WNBA Finals MVP. Given those achievements, it makes perfect sense that Skylar is paid top-dollar. As we dive into the salaries of WNBA players, however, the difference is stark. Jewell Loyd, G, Seattle Storm; $231,515 2. In 2020, the top WNBA base salary was $215,000; in 2019, the top WNBA base salary was $117,500. In terms of base salaries, three athletes are tied for the highest-paid player in the WNBA: Seattle Storm stars. As of now, the details of her contract have not been announced. Surprise! The point of this exercise is to counter the myth that we cant afford to pay high salaries to WNBA players because the league just doesnt make any money. The basketball gender pay gap is significant. All these are the details about the top 10 highest paid WNBA players along with their contract salary and net worth. According to Her Hoop Stats, heres a breakdown of how much rookies drafted in 2022 made this season: According to Spotrac, Rhyne Howard, NaLyssa Smith, Shakira Austin and Emily Engstler, the top four picks in 2022, all have salaries of $72,141. Diana Taurasi - 228.094 dollars. Skylar Kierra Diggins-Smith (born August 2, 1990) is an American professional basketball player for the Phoenix Mercury in the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA). Elena Delle Donne is making around $224,870 this year from contract salaries. As of 2022, the league average of salaries in the WNBA is $102,751 among 151 athletes. However, this is important knowledge, especially amongst players. The list could look different closer to the 2023 WNBA season. Who is the highest-paid WNBA player in 2023? In light of the COVID-19 pandemic, Delle Donne, a longtime Lyme disease patient, elected to sit out the 2020 season due to her susceptibility to the virus. Three franchises will pay their top-earning player less than $200,000 for the upcoming campaign. Our overall argument is not only that today, right now WNBA players should be paid more. WNBA Highest Paid Players in 2020 DeWanna Bonner (Connecticut Sun) - $215,000. The groundbreaking collective bargaining agreement unveiled by the WNBPA, WNBA Board of Governors, and WNBA Commissioner Cathy Engelbert in January 2020 boosted base salaries and continues to provide for extra earning opportunities for WNBA players. She has 1 million followers on Instagram, 465,000 on TikTok, and 77,000 on Twitter.She is expected to be a top pick in the WNBA Draft, whenever she declares. She is a player, many teams want to have in their books. The salary cap, which is regarded as a hard cap, stands at $1,339,000; this amount of money is distributed among 11 or 12 players on each of 12 rosters. Hanna Cavinder is the highest earning womens NCAA basketball player, with an NIL value of $846,000.Cavinder is a senior point guard at the University of Miami.She has amassed 4.7 million followers across all social media, making her the most followed college basketball athlete.Her 4.2 million TikTok followers makes her one of the most popular college athletes in the United States. Trayce Jackson-Davis is a senior forward for the Indiana Hoosiers, who has an NIL value of $886,000.He was a highly touted prospect out of high school, being named to the McDonalds All-American Team. Heres why: The WNBA is a 12 team league versus the NBA being a 30 team league. And thus still earned her $1.5 million salary! She started playing in China in her rookie season. Elena. Her decision came in spite of a panel of league-appointed doctors who would not deem her medically excused from play in the WNBA Bubble, which would have allowed the Mystics to withhold her 2020 salary. as well as other partner offers and accept our. The duo of Stewart and Loyd have earned their spots not only as some of the top players in the W, but they are both tied for the number two spot in the list of top WNBA earners at $228,094. Sue is one of the few WNBA stars who have endorsement deals. Mercury G Diana Taurasi: $228,094 (WNBA max salary) Contract: 2 years, $449,544 Average annual value: $224,772 t-1. Next on the list of the highest paid WNBA player in the world is DeWanna Bonner. For picks No. Some have argued that even with their current paltry salaries, WNBA players are overpaid. To get to the WNBAlevel,hoopersmust train relentlessly, compete at the highest level, andwin games.