There’s no feeling like draft day, whether you’re a projected first-round star or a late third-rounder with much to prove. This year’s draft was no exception, with stars like Bueckers, Citron, and Iriafen gracing the orange carpet. As friends and family filled the halls, eagerly awaiting Commissioner Cathy Engelbert to call their loved ones’ names, it marked full-circle moments for players reaping the rewards of their sweat and determination. But for most players entering the WNBA, the reality is harsh. While the competition intensifies, their salaries often take a significant step down. So, the question remains: why aren’t these players receiving the compensation they deserve?
The Rookie scale, decided as part of the Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA) between the WNBA and WNBPA in 2020, states how much rookies get paid in their debut season in the league according to their position in the draft. The 2025 rookie scale, for example, includes a starting salary of $79,000 for picks one to four, $75,643 for picks five through eight, and $72,455 for the rest of the players selected in the first round. The Year 1 base salary for second-round picks is $69,267 and $66,079 for those picked in the third round. Rookie base salaries, however, are not guaranteed, so the players are only paid for the duration of the season they are on the roster. The length of contracts for drafted rookies is fully specified, while undrafted rookies may have a contract spanning one or two years.
Across all categories, players will receive a two percent increase in base salary between their first and second seasons. The first-round and second-round picks are set to receive a 10 percent increase in their third season and a 13.64 percent increase in their fourth season. Third-round picks are scheduled to receive a five percent increase in their third season and a 14.29 percent increase in their fourth season.
When comparing these numbers to the NBA, there appears to be a wide gap. As the projected first pick of the 2025 NBA draft, Cooper Flagg is expected to earn $11,521,600 in his first year in the league. The number can also increase as the NBA allows first-round picks to sign for as much as 120% and as little as 80% of their Rookie scale, highlighting the glaring difference in pay.
These differences in salary arise out of differences in revenue generation and endorsement contracts between the two leagues. The NBA, which celebrated its 75 year anniversary in 2021, is far senior than the WNBA, which was established in 1996. A young league, hence, lacks an audience as massive as the NBA, struggling with lower viewership and less media coverage. But it is the trend that reveals the true story. The 24′ NBA Finals was the least watched final since 2007 if we exclude the COVID-19 NBA seasons. On the other hand, the women’s league saw its most-viewed WNBA Finals in 25 years, up 115 percent compared to 2023. This presents a strong statement as women’s basketball ushers in a new era.
Behold the CBA
The influx of college stars such as Caitlin Clark and Angel Reese has helped fuel fresh interest in the WNBA. Notably, Clark’s regular-season debut for the Indiana Fever averaged 2.12 million viewers on ESPN2, making it the most-watched WNBA game in 23 years. Owing to this rise, the WNBA has secured an 11-year media rights deal worth $2.2 billion, or $200 million per year, with Disney, Amazon Prime Video, and NBCUniversal. This represents a significant increase from the previous media deals, worth approximately $60 million annually.
A CBA was agreed upon in 2020, which provided the players 50% of the incremental revenue of the league. While it sounds similar to the NBA, it must be noted that players in the men’s league receive 50% of all revenue instead. The financial constraints of the WNBA also lead to challenging situations for its players. Many top athletes are cut from teams due to restrictive salary caps. As told by Breanna Stewart, the 2018 WNBA MVP, “Salaries went up, but a very restrictive hard cap has put teams in a bind. We need to soften it to allow our league to grow”. This highlights the structural issues that prevent WNBA teams from retaining top talent and expanding their rosters, further hindering the league’s growth and financial stability.
Last year, the WNBPA opted out of the CBA from 2020 as they sought to negotiate a deal that fits the current landscape of the league. “This is a defining moment, not just for the WNBA, but for all of us who believe in progress,” WNBPA president Nneka Ogwumike said. “The world has evolved since 2020, and we cannot afford to stand still. If we stay in the current agreement, we fall behind.” The players will be demanding better salary structures, revenue distribution, and better health services for the league.
The WNBA must change
With the advent of leagues such as Unrivaled, the WNBA must find ways to keep up. While the face of their league bought them some time to catch up after turning down the $1 million offer from Unrivaled last year. The contract was 1o times her WNBA salary and alerted the league to the competition they will have to fight moving forward. When Bueckers entered the league this year, she turned the tables, signing a contract where she would earn more than what she would earn from a 4-year-long W contract. The players, who continue to feel they are underpaid, now have alternative options available to them, and they aren’t afraid to capitalize.
While Unrivaled does offer lucrative salaries owing to the private funding they receive, being a 3-on-3 league, they cannot possibly replace the WNBA. It does, however, highlight the changing reality of women’s basketball, and hence, the league must be ready as they will be facing an aggressive push from the WNBPA this season. If they cannot agree with the players, the league might face a lockout, which could be severely detrimental to its growing brand.
Being part of a media deal that is extremely beneficial and with a sweet expansion fee of $50 million already received from the Valkyries, the WNBA has a lot of room to wiggle. The league’s position becomes even more favorable when you realize their media deal is open to renegotiation if the WNBA’s popularity and value surpass the valuation of the deal. So, the WNBA must allow the players to sit at their table, or the tables might just turn for the worse.
The post What Is a Rookie Scale Contract in WNBA? How Does It Work? appeared first on EssentiallySports.