WNBA Salary Breakdown: The Top 15 Highest-Earning Players in 2024
Jackie Young of the Las Vegas Aces currently tops the WNBA in annual earnings with a remarkable $252,450 salary. As a back-to-back WNBA champion, her compensation reflects not just her elite skill but her integral role in her team’s recent success. Below, we explore the financial landscape of the league by highlighting the 15 highest-paid WNBA stars of 2024, along with their achievements and career journeys. Additionally, we reveal which players have built the greatest wealth over their careers thanks to endorsements, overseas play, and business ventures.
Jackie Young: Las Vegas Aces – $252,450 Per Year
Jackie Young captured an NCAA title with Notre Dame before being chosen first overall in the 2019 WNBA Draft by the Aces. She quickly became a standout, claiming a spot on the 2019 All-Rookie team and earning the league’s Most Improved Player award in 2022 by shooting a stellar 43% from three-point range. Young’s two-year contract extension totals $504,900, making her the league’s top-earning player for 2024.
Jewell Loyd: Seattle Storm – $245,508 Per Year
Selected first overall by Seattle in the 2015 WNBA Draft, Jewell Loyd has remained a Storm mainstay ever since. She was named 2015 Rookie of the Year and has helped lead the team to championships in 2018 and 2020. Known for her scoring prowess, she led the league in 2023 with an average of 24.7 points per game. Her current deal spans two years and $491,016.
Kahleah Copper: Phoenix Mercury – $245,059 Per Year
Kahleah Copper arrived in the league as the seventh overall pick (Washington Mystics, 2016) and blossomed after being traded to the Chicago Sky. She became a starter in 2020, powered the Sky to their first-ever WNBA title in 2021, and was named Finals MVP. Now with the Phoenix Mercury, Copper inked a two-year deal for $490,118, an impressive feat for a late top-10 draftee.
Arike Ogunbowale: Dallas Wings – $241,984 Per Year
Arike Ogunbowale made a name for herself at Notre Dame, hitting a game-winning shot in the 2018 NCAA title game. As a Dallas Wings point guard, she’s been a three-time All-Star and topped the WNBA in scoring during 2020. Ogunbowale is currently under a three-year extension worth $725,952.
Diana Taurasi: Phoenix Mercury – $234,936 Per Year
Diana Taurasi, the Mercury’s franchise cornerstone since 2004, is the WNBA’s all-time leading scorer with over 10,000 career points. A three-time champion and ten-time All-Star, she once averaged 25.3 points per game—a league record. Taurasi is on a two-year, $469,872 contract and has given no signal she’s ready to retire.
Natasha Howard: Dallas Wings – $224,675 Per Year
Natasha Howard, a defensive force, secured three WNBA titles with Minnesota and Seattle. Drafted fifth in 2014, she won the Defensive Player of the Year award in 2019. Howard’s four-year Wings contract is valued at $898,700, with free agency looming after this season.
Erica Wheeler: Indiana Fever – $222,154 Per Year
Erica Wheeler’s journey from undrafted player to All-Star MVP in 2019 is remarkable. After multiple releases and signings, she became a core player for Indiana. Wheeler is in the last year of a two-year, $444,308 deal with the Fever.
Brionna Jones: Connecticut Sun – $212,000 Per Year
Starting with the Connecticut Sun as the eighth pick in 2017, Brionna Jones developed into a key contributor after several seasons on the bench. She was named Most Improved Player in 2021 and earned the Sixth Woman of the Year title in 2022. Jones’s current one-year deal pays her $212,000, making her the league’s best-compensated center.
Skylar Diggins-Smith: Seattle Storm – $211,343 Per Year
Six-time All-Star point guard Skylar Diggins-Smith, originally third overall in the 2013 draft, has played for several franchises, taking a year off for maternity leave in 2019. Her latest contract is a two-year, $422,685 pact with Seattle.
Alyssa Thomas: Connecticut Sun – $209,000 Per Year
Maryland graduate Alyssa Thomas was originally picked by the New York Liberty, then traded to the Connecticut Sun. Honored as one of Maryland’s all-time greatest, Thomas has been pivotal for the Sun despite multiple shoulder injuries, averaging 15.5 points and 9.9 rebounds in 2023. She signed a four-year, $836,000 extension in 2021.
Marina Mabrey: Chicago Sky – $206,667 Per Year
Drafted in the second round by Los Angeles, Marina Mabrey emerged with the Dallas Wings before joining Chicago Sky under a three-year, $620,000 contract. She excelled in her debut Chicago season, notching a personal best with 15.0 points per game, and has extensive overseas experience in several countries.
