How the new WNBA CBA will impact every player’s salary in 2026

Michael VoepelMar 21, 2026, 05:23 PM ET
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The WNBA players had many issues to negotiate with their new collective bargaining agreement, some more complicated than others. But salary is a currency every worker understands, and the league will offer historical gains in players’ salaries for 2026 and beyond.

The WNBA board of governors unanimously ratified the terms of a new collective bargaining agreement on Tuesday, one day after the players also unanimously approved the seven-year CBA. But the league’s general managers are already hard at work with the compressed timeline for building their teams this season. The expansion drafts for new franchises Toronto and Portland will be April 6, followed by a massive free agency period expected to start April 7 and the collegiate/overseas draft April 13.

Now that we have more of the specifics of salary structure, here are some examples of what it will look like for players of all levels for the 2026 season, when the salary cap will be $7 million per team, compared to $1.5 million in 2025.

Jump to salaries: Elite veteran | Average veteran | Minimum veteran | Elite rookie | Top draft picks

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Elite veteran

Example: A’ja Wilson, 6-foot-4 center

Age to start this season: 29
Years of WNBA experience: 8
2025 salary: $200,000
Projected 2026 salary: $1.4 million, supermax

Wilson won her third WNBA title and unprecedented fourth MVP award in 2025. The 2018 No. 1 draft pick by the Las Vegas Aces, Wilson has averaged 21.4 points, 9.3 rebounds and 2.0 blocks in her career. The Las Vegas Journal-Review has reported that the Aces are eager to sign the free agent Wilson to a supermax deal.

Last season, Wilson took a pay cut from the supermax, which was then $249,244, to help the Aces afford the championship roster around her. She wasn’t her team’s highest-paid player in 2025; that was guard Jewell Loyd, who made $249,032.

Wilson has been so valuable and durable for the Aces that it seems likely she will get paid as much as is allowed this season. Plus, the cash value for various league awards also is increasing. Should Wilson win a fifth MVP this season, it would be worth $60,000, compared to $15,450 last year.

As for other elite players, the max salary for 2026 will be $1.19 million.

Average salary veteran

Example: Alanna Smith, 6-4 forward

Age to start this season: 29
Years of WNBA experience: 7
2025 salary: $150,000
Projected 2026 salary: $600,000

The WNBA is listing the “average” salary as being $583,800 in 2026, which is an estimate. We will get a better sense of the actual range for elite and midtier veteran salaries by observing how general managers build teams under the new CBA.

Smith, drafted No. 8 in 2019, spent four seasons establishing herself before she really clicked with the Chicago Sky as a starter in 2023. The past two seasons, she has been a big part of the Minnesota Lynx, helping them make the WNBA Finals in 2024 and earning co-Defensive Player of the Year with Wilson in 2025.

Smith is the kind of reliable veteran essential for a team seeking a championship. She just won the Unrivaled title with Mist.

Minimum salary veteran

Erica Wheeler, 5-7 guard

Age to start this season: 35
Years of WNBA experience: 10
2025 salary: $78,831
Projected 2026 salary: $300,000

Wheeler made the veteran minimum last season with the Seattle Storm, averaging 10.3 points and 3.3 assists. The season before that, with the Indiana Fever, she made $202,154 and averaged 3.6 points and 1.8 assists. She gave as much effort and dedication in both situations, which partly explains her value even in her mid-30s.

Wheeler’s experience and team-first mindset can help a franchise. Plus, she still has on-court skills, as we saw during the Unrivaled season. The minimum for players with zero years of experience is $270,000; one to three years is $277,500; four to six years is $285,000; seven to nine years is $292,500; and 10 or more is $300,000. Wheeler will at least be in that last category.

Undrafted out of Rutgers in 2013, she had to work to earn a spot in the league. She has carried an underdog mentality gracefully, including as All-Star Game MVP in 2019. The way Wheeler welcomed and treated Fever rookie sensation Caitlin Clark in 2024 was the type of leadership general managers notice.

Elite rookie contract

Example: Caitlin Clark, 6-0 guard

Age to start this season: 24

Years of WNBA experience: 2
2025 salary: $78,066
Projected 2026 salary: $530,000

The standard WNBA rookie contracts have been for three years with a club option for a fourth, with players earning more for being drafted higher. The union made it a priority to get better pay for the 2026 incoming rookies and players such as Clark, whose existing rookie deals will be adjusted — reduced by 4% for each year elapsed since signing — to the new CBA parameters. For Clark, the No. 1 pick in 2024 entering the third year of her rookie deal, that should be nearly $530,000.

And thanks to a new CBA feature called “EPIC” — Exceptional Performance on Initial Contract — players can renegotiate the fourth year of their rookie deal and agree to a three-year contract extension. Honors such as being named to the All-WNBA first or second team could get them a max deal, or winning MVP a supermax deal. Clark was limited to 13 games last year due to injuries. But she was All-WNBA as a rookie in 2024 and thus will be eligible for a max deal in 2027.

This CBA dramatically improves all players’ salaries. For those still on rookie deals, the difference between what they would have gotten under the old CBA and what they could get now is particularly striking because of how much it accelerates their earning potential.

Projected 2026 No. 1 draft pick

Example: Azzi Fudd, 5-11 guard

Age to start this season: 23

Projected 2026 salary: $500,000

Fudd was eligible age-wise for the WNBA draft last season since she had redshirted at UConn in 2023-24. But she opted to use her final year of college eligibility and is chasing a perfect season and a second consecutive NCAA championship with the Huskies. She will benefit by starting her WNBA career under the new CBA.

The rookie salary scale for 2026 starts at $500,000 for the No. 1 pick. The second pick gets $466,913, the third $436,016, etc., and finishes at $289,133 for the last seven picks in the first round. Second- and third-round picks and any other rookies get $270,000.

The WNBA draft is scheduled for April 13, with the Dallas Wings having the No. 1 pick. Fudd, Spain’s Awa Fam and TCU‘s Olivia Miles are projected as the top-three picks in ESPN’s most recent mock draft.

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Colman Domingo hosts ‘Kimmel,’ mocks Melania Trump, ‘Odyssey’ backlash

Colman Domingo has some thoughts on some “The Odyssey” detractors.

Domingo, the latest guest host of “Jimmy Kimmel Live!” amid the late-night host’s summer break, reacted to backlash over Lupita Nyong’o playing Helen of Troy in the film.

The “Michael” star played a clip of podcaster and One America News Network producer Chris Cella, who said, “Casting a Black woman as Helen of Troy is like casting a Black man to play Abraham Lincoln or a White dude to play MLK.”

“Well, not exactly,” Domingo responded. “Because MLK was real, and Helen of Troy is as real as Harry Potter.”

The actor continued, “But I’ll be honest, I agree with that strange little dude. Helen of Troy shouldn’t have been played by a Black woman. She should have been played by a Black man, specifically me,” Domingo said to cheers. “Daddy wants his Oscar!”

Domingo, 56, then gave naysayers another viewing option instead of the Christopher Nolan epic.

“I have a message for everyone who was upset about diversity in ‘The Odyssey.’ If you want to see a film with a cast of all white people who are cursed by the gods,” he said, pausing for dramatic effect, “the ‘Melania’ movie is currently streaming.”

The actor then did a quick vaudeville jig for comedic effect.

Helen of Troy is a Greek mythological character who doesn’t appear in Homer’s epic. She is only described as one of the most beautiful women in the world and “the face that launched 1,000 ships,” whose abduction starts the Trojan war. She is not a historical figure.

Nyong’o responded to complaints to her casting in an interview with Elle in May.

“I’m very supportive of Chris’ intention with it and with the version of this story that he is telling,” the actress said. “Our cast is representative of the world. I’m not spending my time thinking of a defense. The criticism will exist whether I engage with it or not.”

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Journey’s Jonathan Cain tells Springsteen to ‘shut up’ about politics

Bruce Springsteen faces growing criticism over high ticket prices, anti-Trump speech

Joe Concha, a Fox News contributor, reacts to Bruce Springsteen’s anti-Trump tirade at a Minneapolis concert, fueling criticism over the rock legend’s high concert ticket prices. Concha pointed out the “jungle land of hypocrisy” from the millionaire rock star. Social media users expressed frustration, saying they came for the music, not a political lecture or $800 tickets.

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Journey keyboardist Jonathan Cain didn’t hold back his feelings about Bruce Springsteen during a podcast appearance, telling the rock icon to “shut up” about politics on stage.

Speaking on the “Tom Barnard” podcast, Cain called out stars like Springsteen and actor Robert De Niro for using their art as political platforms. He argued that musicians should stick to entertaining fans, not telling them how to vote.

“I used to be a Democrat back in the old days, but I just couldn’t go there anymore, you know?” Cain said in comments from May, resurfaced by Variety.

DWAYNE ‘THE ROCK’ JOHNSON BRANDED A COWARD BY HOLLYWOOD STARS AFTER REFUSING TO SPEAK OUT ON POLITICS

Split image of Bruce Springsteen, left, and Jonathan Cain, right.

A split image shows Bruce Springsteen, left, and Journey keyboardist Jonathan Cain, right. Cain recently criticized Springsteen for discussing politics during his concerts, saying musicians should focus on entertaining audiences rather than telling fans how to vote. (Jeremychanphotography/Getty Images; Taylor Hill/WireImage)

Calling himself a “diehard conservative,” Cain called on his fellow performers to stick with what they’re good at.

“Guys like Bruce Springsteen should shut up, you know?” Cain said, adding, “Him and, who’s the other one? Robert De Niro. I mean, who cares, guys? Really? Do your art. I try to keep politics out of my music.”

Cain went even further, directly addressing “The Boss” and his iconic 1984 anthem, “Born in the U.S.A.”

BRUCE SPRINGSTEEN TRASHED BY HOME STATE PAPER OVER EXPENSIVE ANTI-TRUMP CONCERTS

“And Bruce, I mean, what the heck? I used to like him, and now he’s just annoying. He’s an annoying, bitter old man. I mean, stop it. Really. You were born in the U.S.A., weren’t you, dude? So act like it. But even that song, if you look at the lyrics, I mean, it’s a kind of a diss to our country,” he said.

Springsteen has frequently used his concerts and public appearances to speak out against the Trump administration and conservative policies. During a January concert in New Jersey, he quoted Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey, telling the crowd that “ICE should get the f— out of Minneapolis.”

During a PBS special titled “Bruce Springsteen: Finding America in Song,” the singer defended his political commentary as patriotism.

Bruce Springsteen holds a no kings sign.

Bruce Springsteen & The E Street Band perform during Land of Hope & Dreams American Tour at Target Center on March 31, 2026, in Minneapolis, Minnesota. (Kevin Mazur / Getty Images)

BRUCE SPRINGSTEEN OFFERS ‘PRAYER’ FOR TRUMP AFTER WHCA DINNER SHOOTING DESPITE MONTHS OF CRITICISM

“I believe in critical patriotism,” Springsteen said. “I believe that’s the definition of a patriot, you know, that you love your country so much that you are willing to look at it clearly, recognize its faults, encourage it to be a better place, and believe that you carry in your heart the country that is waiting.”

Cain, who is married to a senior advisor for Donald Trump, strongly disagreed with that philosophy. He argued that few musicians are truly releasing patriotic music anymore, pointing to himself and Kid Rock as rare exceptions.

“Me and Kid Rock, we’re probably on an island,” Cain said. “There’s a few of us, and I proudly stand there with my flag on that island. And if anybody’s got a problem with me, America and Jesus, then bring it.”

Kid Rock has similarly come out against Springsteen, calling him “just another person with TDS,” the acronym for “Trump Derangement Syndrome.”

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“To be in Europe talking junk about our president who gets up and works his ass off for this country, every day, and his administration is doing such great things… Thank God for him. But to do that in Europe… what a punk move,” Rock told “Fox & Friends” in May after Springsteen said the U.S. was in the hands of a “corrupt, incompetent, and treasonous administration” while in Berlin.

Musician Bruce Springsteen performs during the opening of the Obama Presidential Center in the Jackson Park neighborhood of Chicago, Illinois, on Thursday, June 18, 2026. (Talia Sprague/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

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Cain added that while his Christian faith is central to his life, he deliberately chooses not to lecture his audiences during Journey concerts, preferring to bring people together.

“Now, people say, ‘Well, you’re a Christian, and you’re conservative,’ and I’m like, ‘So what?’ I don’t preach it on stage. I don’t spend 10 minutes talking about it,” Cain said.

Fox News Digital reached out to Springsteen’s representatives for comment but did not immediately hear back.

Madison Colombo is a writer for Fox News Digital’s Flash, Media, and Culture team, covering daily breaking news and trending topics with an award-winning background in broadcast and digital journalism.

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2026 Detroit Lions training camp preview: Linebacker

5.0: Campbell was tied for second among all off-ball linebackers last season with 5.0 sacks. Barnes was tied for sixth with 4.0. It’s the first time Detroit had two off-ball linebackers each log at least 4.0 sacks in a season since 2018.

10: Campbell is the first player in NFL history to produce a season with at least 155 defensive tackles and 10 special teams tackles.

15: Fumbles forced by the Lions’ defense last season. Only Pittsburgh and Minnesota had more with 16 each.

44.8: Opponent conversion percentage on 3rd & short (4 yards or less) plays against the Lions’ defense last season. That percentage was the second lowest in the NFL behind only Seattle (43.5).

133: The Lions led the NFL in 2025 with the fewest missed tackles (133), per Pro Football Focus. New England had the second fewest with 148.

1,077: Rushing yards allowed by Detroit’s defense after contact last year, the second fewest in the NFL behind only Jacksonville (1,012).

Quotable: “This is Jack Campbell’s defense, and I don’t hesitate when I say that,” DC Kelvin Sheppard said this offseason when asked about what Campbell means to his defense.

“This is Jack Campbell’s defense and everyone in that locker room knows it. Point blank period. It all goes through Jack.”

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