Retired WNBA players are about to get a multimillion-dollar gift.
The WNBA and WNBPA announced Friday that they completed the full CBA, more than two months after they agreed to a deal that allowed the 2026 season to start on time. The CBA contains a “Veteran Recognition Payment” that will pay retired players with at least five years of WNBA experience a lump sum worth as much as $100,000.
The breakdown of the veteran recognition payment is based on years played:
- 5–7 years: $30,000
- 8–11 years: $50,000
- 12+ years: $100,000
The total payout for retired players will exceed $14 million, a source familiar with the matter tells Front Office Sports. About 280 players who retired before the 2026 season are included in the payout, including 2012 MVP Tina Charles, who retired three days before the start of the 2026 season.
The Veteran Recognition Payment was first revealed as one of the key elements of the new CBA agreement in March, though a slight change was included in the full CBA: Any retired player who won the MVP award but played less than 12 years will qualify for the $100,000 bonus.
The 409-page document, obtained by FOS, states:
“Any player who retired prior to the 2026 Season and was awarded WNBA Most Valuable Player at least once during their WNBA career, regardless of their Years of Service at the time of their retirement, shall receive the same Veteran Recognition Payment as a player with twelve (12) or more Years of Service.”
Four former MVPs benefit from the amended rule:
- Cynthia Cooper (1997, 1998)
- Yolanda Griffith (1999)
- Maya Moore (2014)
- Elena Delle Donne (2015, 2019)
Before the change, Cooper, who was 34 during the WNBA’s inaugural season, would have been paid $30,000 after playing five seasons. The other three MVPs played at least eight seasons and would have received $50,000.
When the WNBA started in 1997, only the highest-paid players earned $50,000 annually. Under the new CBA, the minimum WNBA salary increased from less than $70,000 to $270,000, while max salaries were up from about $250,000 to $1.4 million.
The salary increases coincide with the start of the WNBA’s new media deal this season. The deal—done with seven media partners—is worth $3.1 billion over 11 years for an average annual value of $281 million, about 6.5 times the previous deal’s AAV of $43 million and nearly 5 times last year’s media revenue of around $60 million.
WNBPA secretary and Chicago Sky center Elizabeth Williams spoke to FOS ahead of her team’s game Wednesday against the Toronto Tempo and described the tweak as “small” but a “significant addition” to the CBA.
“We thought it was really important to make sure that they were recognized as well,” Williams said.
ESPN analyst Rebecca Lobo, who played six seasons in the league, said last month that the move “reflects really well on the current players.”
“I’m sure there are a certain number of [retired players] who it will make a real impact on their lives,” Lobo said during an ESPN media availability when asked by FOS. “For the current players to kind of appreciate the history of the game and where they are now as a result of some of the women who came before them, that was magnanimous and certainly a surprise.”
The CBA states payments are expected to be distributed to retirees before the end of the calendar year.
