WNBA Draft: Azzi Fudd's rookie salary will be 6 times greater than last year’s No. 1 pick Paige Bueckers thanks to new CBA
Azzi Fudd, the No. 1 overall draft pick this year, will make more than 6 times as much as Paige Bueckers did last year.
The WNBA’s historic collective bargaining agreement led to players getting a big pay day ahead of the 2026 season. The start of a chaotic free agency period has led to more and more players getting million-dollar salaries, after years of players only sometimes cracking $200,000 per year. That pay raise extends to the incoming rookies as well.
The 45 players drafted by the league on Monday will receive significant six-figure salaries in their first year in the league — a far cry from the salaries that rookies used to receive. The distinction between the pre- and post-CBA rookie salaries is most obvious through the No. 1 overall picks from the past two years: Azzi Fudd and Paige Bueckers, who were both selected by the Dallas Wings.
Bueckers, who was picked first last year, earned $78,831 in her rookie season with the Wings; Fudd, who was selected first overall this year, will earn $500,000. Fudd’s first-year salary is more than 6 times as much as Bueckers, with only one year between the two UConn teammates getting drafted. With the new WNBA CBA, Azzi Fudd will make $421,169 more than last year's No.
1 pick Paige Bueckers received 🤯 (via Spotrac) pic. twitter. com/o35j8HgBPh — Yahoo Sports (@YahooSports) April 14, 2026 Here are the scaled salaries for the top 10 picks in 2025, via Sportrac : Paige Bueckers, Dallas Wings — $78,831 ($348,198 total value, under the old CBA) Dominique Malonga, Seattle Storm — $78,831 Sonia Citron, Washington Mystics — $78,831 Kiki Iriafen, Washington Mystics — $78,831 Justė Jocytė, Golden State Valkyries — $75,643 (did not end up joining the team for 2025 season) Georgia Amoore, Washington Mystics — $75,643 Aneesah Morrow, Connecticut Sun — $75,643 Saniya Rivers, Connecticut Sun — $75,643 Sarah Ashlee Barker, Los Angeles Sparks — $72,455 Ajša Sivka, Chicago Sky — $72,455 (did not end up joining team for 2025 season) And here are the salaries for this year’s picks, via Sportrac : Azzi Fudd, Dallas Wings — $500,000 ($2,238,360 total value) Olivia Miles, Minnesota Lynx — $466,913 ($2,090,240 total value) Awa Fam Thiam, Seattle Storm — $436,016 ($1,951,923 total value) Lauren Betts, Washington Mystics — $407,163 ($1,822,756 total value) Gabriela Jaquez, Chicago Sky — $380,219 ($1,702,135 total value) Kiki Rice, Toronto Tempo — $355,058 ($1,589,494 total value) Iyana Martín Carrión, Portland Fire — $331,563 ($1,484,317 total value) Flau’jae Johnson, Seattle Storm — $309,622 ($1,386,092 total value) Angela Dugalić, Washington Mystics — $289,133 ($1,294,367 total value) Raven Johnson, Indiana Fever — $289,133 ($1,294,367 total value) Under the new CBA, picks nine through 15 from the 2026 Draft earn the same amount ($289,133 in their first year); all other players drafted in the second or third rounds earn $270,000.