How Much Will the WNBA’s No. 1 Pick Earn in 2026?

The No. 1 pick in the 2026 WNBA draft is still up for debate. What isn’t is the reality that their rookie-scale contract will be more than six times what 2025 No. 1 pick, Paige Bueckers, signed for in her rookie season. 

Whether it’s Awa Fam, Olivia Miles, or Azzi Fudd who the Dallas Wings take first overall, their selection will come with a $500,000 base salary in year 1, according to sources briefed on the CBA term sheet. 

Under the 2025 CBA, Bueckers made $78,831 in her rookie season, which accounted for roughly 5% of the league’s $1.5 million salary cap. The No. 1 pick in the upcoming 2026 draft will account for 7% of the $7 million salary cap. 

Lottery picks will also receive full salary protection their rookie season, a source said, confirming a previous report from ESPN. The second overall pick will earn $466,913 and the last pick of the first round, No. 15, will earn $289,133. 

All remaining draft picks will earn the rookie minimum at $270,000. 

In total, the WNBA’s top pick could earn more than $2.2 million over the duration of the four-year rookie scale contract. The fourth year is a team option and could see the player earn an escalated salary under the league’s new “EPIC” (exceptional players on initial contracts) provision. This rule will allow rookies to renegotiate and sign a max extension in the fourth year if they were previously named to either of the All-WNBA teams; if they were previously named MVP they can sign a supermax extension. 

Full rookie scale contract breakdown:

Additional details from the term sheet—which was ratified by the WNBPA on Monday and the WNBA Board of Governors a day later—include a change to the possible end date of the season to Nov. 21, sources confirmed to Front Office Sports. In the 2020 CBA, the latest possible season end date was Oct. 31. The WNBA’s footprint will expand in 2027 with the potential number of games increasing to a max of 50 from 44 games under the previous CBA. In 2029, the maximum number of games that could be played will be 52. 

The supermax salary in 2026 will be $1.4 million, which amounts to roughly 20% of the salary cap. The standard max in year 1 of the deal—$1.19 million—accounts for 17% of the cap. 

The minimum salaries will be tier-based starting at $270,000 for rookies. Players with 1-3 years of service will earn at least $277,500. The minimum for a player with 4-6 years of service will be $285,000, and for 7-9 years of service, $292,500. The minimum for players with 10 or more years of service will be $300,000. These numbers will grow each year over the course of the seven-year term of the CBA. 

New to this CBA is a salary cap exception for minimum salaries. This exception will allow teams to sign a player at the fourth tier value or higher, but it will only account for $277,500 off the cap sheet.