WNBA highest paid players: Diana Taurasi, Jewell Loyd, Arike Ogunbowale headline list in 2023

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Jewell, Diana, Arike
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Take a guess at who you think the highest paid player in the WNBA is.

If you said Diana Taurasi, you're right! Sort of...

It's actually a three-way tie between the Mercury legend, Arike Ogunbowale and Jewell Loyd. All of these women have an annual salary of $234,936, according to Spotrac. In comparison, the highest paid player in the NBA is Steph Curry, with an annual salary of $51.9 million.

MORE: WNBA salary, contracts: How much money do women's basketball players make?

Let's meet the others on the list.

Who is the highest paid player in the WNBA?

As said above, the highest paid players include Ogunbowale, Taurasi and Loyd. There are three players under them who also tie salaries — Elena Delle Donne, DeWanna Bonner and Skylar Diggins-Smith. They all make $234,450 annually.

Here are the top 20 player salaries in the league, according to Spotrac:

Rank Player Salary Team
1 Arike Ogunbowale $234,936 Dallas Wings
2 Diana Taurasi $234,936 Phoenix Mercury
3 Jewell Loyd $234,936 Seattle Storm
4 Elena Delle Donne $234,350 Washington Mystics
5 DeWanna Bonner $234,350 Connecticut Sun
6 Skylar Diggins-Smith $234,350 Phoenix Mercury
7 Natasha Howard $227,900 Dallas Wings
8 Cheyenne Parker $216,100 Atlanta Dream
9 Alyssa Thomas $212,000 Connecticut Sun
10 Jonquel Jones $211,150 New York Liberty
11 Brionna Jones $208,000 Connecticut Sun
12 Kelsey Mitchell $206,000 Indiana Fever
13 Kahleah Copper $205,000 Chicago Sky
14 A'ja Wilson $202,155 Las Vegas Aces
15 Napheesa Collier $202,154 Minnesota Lynx
16 Erica Wheeler $202,154 Indiana Fever
17 Marina Mabrey $202,000 Chicago Sky
18 Kayla McBride $201,984 Minnesota Lynx
19 Aerial Powers $201,984 Minnesota Lynx
20 Betnijah Laney $201,984 New York Liberty

Different types of WNBA contracts

Rookie scale contracts

Rookie scale contracts are for players who have not previously signed to play in the league. This is what Aliyah Boston signed after she got drafted No. 1 overall in 2023. Each round of draftees gets a different base scale.

This was the base scale for 2023, according to HerHoopStats:

Pick 2023
1-4 $74,305
5-8 $71,300
9-12 $68,295
Second round $65,290
Third round $62,285
Undrafted $62,285

The four other types of contracts are non-standard:

Rest-of-season contracts

Rest-of-season contracts are entered after the season starts, meaning the player receives a prorated amount of their base salary when the ink is dry. HerHoopsStats said the contract can't have any sort of base salary protection, either, and the value falls anywhere between the league minimum and maximum, typically trending on the former's side.

Replacement contracts

Replacement contracts are similar to rest-of-season contracts. According to HerHoopStats, the difference is that teams can only sign this specific type of contract if multiple players are currently unable to perform.

In addition, they are the only contract that allows a team to go above the cap. These get terminated as soon as the player being replaced becomes available.

Hardship and emergency hardship exceptions

Replacement contracts are really only used in the case of hardship and emergency hardship exceptions.

Hardship exceptions are called upon when injury, illness or other conditions like pregnancy and childbirth come into play. The exception has to come because a player is out for three or more weeks at the least. Emergency hardship exceptions are only allowed by league discretion when a team doesn't have enough players available on their roster (i.e. less than 10).

Seven-day contracts

Seven-day contracts are... well, exactly what they are called. They last for a week and can only be signed in the second half of the season, which typically falls after the All-Star break if we look at things categorically. These are very low commitment contacts, as players can sign up to three with the same team in a singular season, and they cannot extend past the regular season end date.

Training camp contracts

Training camp contracts are only used in the preseason. From Feb. 1 to the first day of the regular season — so in 2023's case, May 19 — teams can sign players to these deals. They include a one-year, non-guaranteed minimum salary that isn't added to the cap until the regular season begins.

What is a salary cap?

A salary cap in the WNBA is a hard cap with little to no flexibility. It's the total allowed salary of all the players a team has on their books, including things like time off bonuses and trade bonuses that are exercised, as well.

The cap expands after every season, allowing for player revenue to then, in turn, also expand. Here are the salary caps (and their minimums) through 2027, according to HerHoopStats:

Year Cap Minimum
2023 $1,420,500 $1,188,990
2024 $1,463,200 $1,224,630
2025 $1,507,100 $1,261,440
2026 $1,552,300 $1,299,240
2027 $1,598,800 $1,338,210

So, on top of bonuses, the other things that count within a team's salary are: outstanding qualifying offers and offer sheets, money owed to retired players and players no longer with the team based on buyouts and guarantees, and cap holds for rosters under 10.

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Sara Tidwell is an editorial intern with The Sporting News.
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