For the first time in history, the same city will enjoy the No. 1 picks in both the NBA and WNBA drafts. It will be Dallas, who will try to fill the void left by Luka Doncic with Paige Bueckers (23 years old) and, probably, with Cooper Flagg (18), the favorite to be the first choice in the ceremony to be held on June 25 and 26.
There are parallels between the two young players: leaders in major college programs (Bueckers at UConn and Flagg at Duke), with the potential to be world-class stars, media-savvy, a magnet for brands, white… What they don’t have in common is the salary they will earn. Once again, the economic gulf between the WNBA and the NBA is demonstrated. In their first four years, he will earn 180 times more than she will.
Bueckers will earn $78,831 for her entire rookie season and close to $350,000 for the first four campaigns. Flagg, meanwhile, is estimated to earn about $160,000… per game. In just two games, he will earn almost the same money as her in four years. The forward’s first salary in the NBA is estimated to be around $13 million and over the course of his rookie contract he will go to $63 million in four years.
Caitlin Clark’s impact
Last season, these differences were already striking. Caitlin Clark, a player who is expected to boost the women’s competition and take it to another dimension, arrived in the WNBA. Her first salary, after being the number one draft pick, was $76,535. Frenchman Zaccharie Risacher, the first choice in the NBA by the Hawks and without having a great impact, has earned $12.5 million for this season.
Another example to show the distance between the two competitions: the highest-paid player in the NBA is Stephen Curry, whose salary is more than $55 million, and the highest salary in the WNBA is earned by Kelsey Mitchell, a player for the Indiana Fever, who takes home just under $250,000.
The players’ union and the WNBA are negotiating a new collective bargaining agreement to improve economic conditions. Clark’s arrival boosted television ratings and attendance at the competition and this season is expected to continue to grow thanks in part to the arrival of Bueckers.
A new WNBA audiovisual deal worth $200 million has already been signed. This is a considerable improvement on what existed before but it is a far cry from the one achieved by the NBA, which will begin in the 2025-26 season and amounts to $76 billion for the next 11 years.
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