How much money do WNBA players make?

The WNBA Draft takes place Monday, April 11, and with that, the 2022-2023 WNBA season is right around the corner. Following the massive uptick in viewership for the 2022 Women’s NCAA Championship game (the most-viewed college basketball game, men’s or women’s, since 2008), the WNBA could be set for an all-time season.

It’s no secret that there’s a massive salary differential between the WNBA and NBA, but just how big is it? For the 2021-2022 NBA season, the NBA’s rookie minimum sat at $925,000 — just about four times the average annual salary of the WNBA’s highest-paid player. 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. Yahoo! Finance cited the average WNBA salary in the 2021 season to be $120,648.

Seattle’s Jewell Loyd currently ranks as the highest-paid player in the WNBA, making an average of $231,515 per year. The former first overall pick earned 2021 All-WNBA First-Team honors, coming off a career-high 17.9 points scored and 4.0 rebounds per game and will. Teammate Breanna Steward ranks second highest among WNBA salaries, set to make $228,094 in the 2022-23 season before hitting free agency next year. Stewart ranks top-five among WNBA players in points (20.3), rebounds (9.5) and blocks (1.8) per game.

Here’s a look at the top-10 annual average salaries in the WNBA.

Top-10 WNBA salaries 2022 (annual average)

1. Jewell Loyd, SEA — $231,515
2. Breanna Stewart, SEA — $228,094
3. Elena Delle Donne, WAS — $224,870
   Dewanna Bonner, CON — $224,870
   Skylar Diggins-Smith, PHX — $224,870
4. Diana Taurasi, PHX — $224,772
5. Natasha Howard, NY — $224,675
6. Brittney Griner, PHX — $221,515
7. Tiffany Hayes, ATL — $215,000
8. Alyssa Thomas, CON — $209,000