Posted on 01/01/2026 3:36:53 PM PST by nickcarraway
Taurasi wanted the WNBA to show the girls the money.
Diana Taurasi has been one of the WNBA’s most elite players for two decades. The problem was that she was never paid like one. That’s why the 2009 MVP hopes to see the best women’s basketball players receive the compensation they deserve when the next collective bargaining agreement takes effect.
“I always thought about I should’ve get paid for being the best basketball player in the world, not for doing social media or doing commercials,” Taurasi told Front Office Sports back in August. “That was one of the things I always had the most angst about. I don’t wanna do commercials, I don’t wanna be a spokeswoman for every product in the world.”
The gender pay gap in American basketball Taurasi was one of the most vocal proponents of raising WNBA players’ salaries. She lamented having to play overseas during the offseason to supplement her meager pay, claiming that the janitors made more money than she did.
For Taurasi, they needed to be paid because of their skills, just like their male counterparts.
“When I think of the NBA, Kobe got paid to be the best basketball player in the world. Jokic got paid to be the best basketball player in the world. I think we need to change that, shift into women’s basketball. Like, that’s what you are. Let’s get paid for that and hopefully, the next CBA can reflect that,” Taurasi continued.
For context, Kobe Bryant was the league’s highest-paid star for three seasons (2009-10, 2013-14, and 2014-15). He was the first player to secure a $30 million salary for a season, which occurred in the 2013-14 season. Interestingly, Nikola Jokic has never been the top-paid player, but he will earn over $55 million in 2025-26, just behind Stephen Curry’s $59.6 million.
According to Forbes in 2024, NBA players were paid substantially more than WNBA players. The average WNBA annual salary is $150,000, while the average NBA salary is nearly $10 million, roughly 67 times more.
While it’s true that the NBA reaches a worldwide audience compared to the WNBA, the previous CBA wasn’t helping the women’s crusade for better pay. WNBA players receive a much smaller percentage (around 10 percent) of the revenue. In comparison, NBA players receive 50 percent of the league’s revenue pie.
Of course, the counter-argument is that the NBA earns way more than the WNBA, and that is a fact. However, the latter is closing the gap little by little, with estimates projecting a revenue of around $1 billion in 2025, driven by superstars like Caitlin Clark, Angel Reese and others.
If the WNBA stars play their cards right in the CBA negotiations, the days of securing summer jobs abroad will be long gone.
View post: "They offered to pay me to rest" – Diana Taurasi explained her decision to sit out the 2015 WNBA season
What the WNBPA is looking for
It’s understandable why Taurasi (and many others) call out the lopsided revenue-sharing model of the past CBA. However, without a deal in sight in the near future, it looks like the process has done little to convince players that real progress has been made.
According to ESPN, “the WNBA’s latest proposal includes an uncapped revenue sharing model that would raise maximum salaries above $1.3 million (up from $249,244 in 2025) and growing to nearly $2 million over the life of the deal; average salaries to above $530,000 (up from $120,000 in 2025) and growing to more than $770,000 over the life of the deal; and minimum salaries to in excess of over a quarter of a million in the first year alone (up from $66,079 in 2025).”
Additionally, the union wants 30 percent of the gross revenue, while the league counters with 15 percent, roughly equivalent to one-half of the net revenue.
Although the negotiations are far apart, it’s already a step in the right direction. Regardless of the outcome, WNBA players can expect substantial pay raises and additional benefits from the revenue-sharing overhaul, whether it’s 30 or 15 percent of the gross income.
Taurasi will unfortunately no longer be there, having announced her retirement in February. Nonetheless, the scale of the new negotiations suggests the league can no longer ignore the standard that she pushed for.
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The WNBA has never made a profit. Any checks she's getting are nothing more than charity from the NBA.
She's economically illiterate.
Does the witch think she could beat Kobe Beat Kobe Bryant?
You would have been if you were.
But you weren't.
Were you really good for a female? Yes.
That does not equal "the best in the world".
Stop reading your own press releases and come back to reality.
It depends on what the teevee and ticket buyers are willing to pay.
And that depends on ratings.
She should have at least got 2 bits for every game.
She gets paid what she is worth.
Seeing as he is dead.
And the dead really suck at basketball.
Each one receives an infinite % of the WNBA PROFIT!
Pagig Michael Jordan and Nikola Jokić...please pick up the white courtesy phone. A Diana Taurasi is calling.
Little Sisters of the NBA.
Diana, when twenty thousand people show up for all your games every time, and millions watch them broadcast, then you can demand higher pay. Apparently you have no understanding of basic economics.
The WNBA product is inferior to the NBA, Men’s college ball, and elite men’s high school basketball.
If they want to be paid like the best in the world, they should play the best in the world.
She might be the greatest female basketball player, guess those that watch can debate, but she is definetly not the greatest basketball player. In fact, she’s probably not as good as anyone on a roster in the NBA. That’s why she doesn’t get paid as much.
Could be just me, but all of them are overpaid. WAY overpaid!
Golly. It would be a shame if they were to go on strike...
No one would notice.
Well, their parents and girlfriends would, but that’s about it.
The WNBA should get rid of the salary cap and let the owners pay what they want to.
So the best response to women like her is "why didn't you just play in the NBA? If you were as good as Kobe Bryant, some desperate team surely would have signed you."
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