Caitlin Clark is the highest-earning WNBA player in 2026, at an estimated $12 million or more a year, almost all of it from endorsements, not from her roughly $529,000 WNBA salary. The league’s top base pay is $1.4 million. Off the court, four players earn several times that, and the gap between salary and total income is the story of the league right now.
Net worth is rarely disclosed for WNBA players, so this is a ranking of estimated annual income in 2026: salary plus endorsement and business money. Every endorsement figure is an estimate, and we label which ones come from reported 2025 data and which are our own.
| Rank | Player | Estimated 2026 income | WNBA salary 2026 | Off-court income |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 8 | Kelsey Mitchell | $1.4M to $2M (our range) | $1.4M | Low profile |
| 7 | Napheesa Collier | $1.5M to $3M (our range) | $1.4M | Unpublished |
| 6 | Breanna Stewart | $2.5M to $4M (our range) | Below the $1.4M max | No public figure |
| 5 | A’ja Wilson | $3M to $5M (our range) | $1.4M | Not disclosed |
| 4 | Paige Bueckers | About $9.6M | About $500K (reported) | About $9.1M (2025, secondary report) |
| 3 | Angel Reese | About $9.7M | About $350K (reported) | About $9.4M (2025, secondary report) |
| 2 | Sabrina Ionescu | About $11M | Under the $1.4M max | About $10M (2025) |
| 1 | Caitlin Clark | About $12.5M | About $529K (reported) | About $12M (2025, Forbes-style estimate) |
Salary is not the same as net worth
A new collective bargaining agreement took effect in 2026. The team salary cap jumped from about $1.5 million to $7 million, and a supermax tier lets a few players earn $1.4 million a year. Before that, the maximum was about $249,000, so the top contract rose about 5.6 times. The average salary reportedly now sits near $583,000.
Three players, Napheesa Collier, A’ja Wilson and Kelsey Mitchell, share the top base salary at $1.4 million. Wilson re-signed in 2026 on a three-year deal worth about $5 million, or roughly $1.67 million a year. Those are big raises. They still put the best-paid WNBA player in a lower bracket than the endorsement stars. Even after the raise, the league’s pay scale barely touches the ranking below. We rank on total income because that is the only measure that sorts these eight players in a useful way.
8. Kelsey Mitchell: $1.4 million to $2 million
Mitchell plays beside Clark and ties for the league’s top salary at $1.4 million. She has the least public endorsement profile of the eight, so we set the range near her base pay.
This one is mostly salary.
7. Napheesa Collier: $1.5 million to $3 million
Collier shares the top base salary at $1.4 million and co-founded Unrivaled with Stewart. The winter league gave WNBA players a domestic offseason paycheck for the first time, but the amounts are not public.
We added a modest estimate for brand and league income to the $1.4 million base.
6. Breanna Stewart: $2.5 million to $4 million
Stewart is reported to work with Puma and DirecTV, and she co-founded the Unrivaled offseason league with Collier. Her WNBA salary is below the maximum, and the league’s offseason pay has not been disclosed.
Our range is built from a salary below $1.4 million and an estimate of her brand and business income. It is the least certain on the list.
5. A’ja Wilson: $3 million to $5 million
Wilson has the biggest contract in the league, at $5 million over three years, and she is a face of the Aces. She also has shoe and brand deals, but we could not find a reliable dollar figure for them.
Our range assumes the $1.4 million salary plus $2 million to $3.5 million in endorsements. This is our own estimate, not a reported number.
4. Paige Bueckers: about $9.6 million
Bueckers, the 2025 number one pick, was quoted at $9.1 million for 2025 in the same second-hand listing. Her 2026 base is reported at about $500,000. She is eligible for a maximum contract in 2028 under the league’s new fast-track rule for players with All-League honors.
The estimate is the 2025 figure plus her reported salary.
3. Angel Reese: about $9.7 million
Reese came in at $9.4 million on the same 2025 list, according to a post quoting it, so this is a second-hand figure. Her rookie-scale pay is reported at around $350,000. Almost all of her income is from brand deals, which makes her the clearest example of a player whose business dwarfs her contract.
We used the reported 2025 earnings and a salary of about $350,000, rounded.
2. Sabrina Ionescu: about $11 million
Ionescu ranked 13th among all female athletes on a 2025 earnings list at $10.5 million, with about $10 million of it off the court, making her the second-highest-earning WNBA player behind Clark. She plays for the Liberty and keeps a long list of brand partners.
Her salary is under the $1.4 million maximum, but we could not confirm the exact amount.
Our estimate adds her 2025 off-court income to a salary of up to $1 million.
1. Caitlin Clark: about $12.5 million
Clark earned about $12 million off the court in 2025, against roughly $100,000 in WNBA pay that year, according to a widely cited athlete earnings list. A different report put her 2025 total at $16.1 million, so the sources disagree by a few million. Her Nike deal was first reported as above $20 million and later described as eight years and about $28 million, including a signature shoe. State Farm, Gatorade, Goldman Sachs and Panini are also on her roster.
The Fever picked up her fourth-year option in April 2026, so she is under contract through 2027. Her 2026 base is reported at about $529,000, though one report says $338,000 across the rookie deal, so treat the salary line as approximate. Outside estimates of her total net worth range from $10 million to $20 million.
We took the 2025 off-court figure of $12 million and added the reported 2026 base salary.
Income versus pay, by the numbers
Dividing estimated off-court income by reported 2026 salary gives a blunt ratio. For Clark it is about 23 to 1. For Reese it is about 27 to 1, and for Bueckers about 18 to 1. For Wilson, the ratio is closer to 2 to 1.
Those ratios explain why the league’s own pay scale, even after the biggest raise in its history, does not decide who is richest. A rookie with a national following can out-earn a league MVP by a factor of five or more. The players at the top of this table get paid for attention, and the contract is the smaller part of that arrangement.
What to watch in 2027
Clark is under contract through 2027 and eligible for a maximum extension, which would pay up to 17 percent of the cap, about $1.2 million at the 2026 level. Bueckers follows a year later.
None of this changes the top of our table soon. A salary bump of roughly $700,000 is small next to a Nike deal worth $3.5 million a year on its own.
Records set in 2025 and 2026
- The WNBA’s maximum salary rose from about $249,000 to $1.4 million under the 2026 agreement.
- The team salary cap went from about $1.5 million to $7 million.
- Clark’s roughly $12 million in 2025 off-court income was the highest for any WNBA player on a major athlete earnings list.
- Wilson’s $5 million, three-year contract is reported as the richest in WNBA history by total value.
- Fast-tracked maximum deals now let Clark sign in 2027 and Bueckers in 2028.
What drives these numbers
- Endorsements beat salary. For the top four players, sponsor money is at least seven times their WNBA pay.
- College fame carries over. Clark, Reese and Bueckers arrived with national audiences, which let them sign deals before they played a pro game.
- The league is a showcase. A $7 million team cap cannot compete with sponsor budgets, so the WNBA works as a marketing platform.
- Business ownership counts. Players who co-found a league or a company, as Stewart and Collier did with Unrivaled, can build wealth that no contract table shows.
- Disclosure is thin. No player publishes her finances, which is why we show ranges.
FAQ
Who is the richest WNBA player in 2026?
On annual income, Caitlin Clark, at an estimated $12 million or more, nearly all from endorsements. Outside estimates of her net worth range from $10 million to $20 million.
Who is the highest-paid WNBA player?
Napheesa Collier, A’ja Wilson and Kelsey Mitchell share the top base salary of $1.4 million for 2026. Wilson’s three-year deal worth about $5 million averages the most.
What is the WNBA maximum salary in 2026?
About $1.4 million, up from roughly $249,000 before the new collective bargaining agreement.
How much does Caitlin Clark make from the WNBA?
About $529,000 in 2026 by one report, though sources differ. Her endorsement income is reported at roughly $12 million.
How much is Caitlin Clark’s Nike deal worth?
Reports describe an eight-year deal worth about $28 million, including a signature shoe, signed in 2024. Early reports said above $20 million.
Do WNBA players earn money outside the league?
Yes. Endorsements are the largest source for the top stars, and Unrivaled gives players a winter paycheck, though its pay is not public.
How we put this list together
We ranked players by estimated 2026 income, adding reported WNBA salaries to reported 2025 off-court earnings and, where none exist, a labelled range of our own. Every income figure is approximate, endorsement numbers are estimates, and this is not a statement of net worth.
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Last updated: October 2026.
