Diana Taurasi Steps Away Just Before the WNBA’s Financial Boom

Diana Taurasi’s retirement announcement Tuesday wasn’t exactly a surprise. The 42-year-old played 20 seasons in the WNBA—the most of any player in history—and had reportedly been mulling retirement throughout the offseason.

But the timing of her decision is still noteworthy.

Taurasi is retiring a year before a new WNBA collective bargaining agreement, which, assuming the league and the Women’s National Basketball Players Association can agree on a deal, is expected to significantly boost players’ salaries. The WNBA, together with the NBA, agreed to an 11-year, $2.2 billion media-rights deal that kicks in next season, which will be a massive revenue bump for the league.

The full career earnings of Taurasi are unclear, but the 11-time All-Star and 2009 MVP earned nearly $1.4 million over the last eight years of her career, per Spotrac, an annual average of about $173,000. 

WNBA salaries were even smaller in Taurasi’s early years than they are now, despite the significant criticism levied on players’ pay today. Taurasi, the 2004 No. 1 pick, earned a base salary of $40,800 in her rookie season, while 2024 No. 1 pick Caitlin Clark earned about $76,500 last season.

Given the smaller salaries in the past, it’s likely Taurasi made around $2 million throughout her two-decade WNBA career—which would be only $100,000 per season. That’s the minimum salary of players in Unrivaled’s inaugural season this year. (Taurasi did supplement her WNBA earnings by playing more than a decade internationally, which for the best players, can be worth more than $500,000 per season, according to The Athletic.)

It’s the unfortunate reality that Taurasi, who paved the way for many of the stars today expecting a massive payday, won’t be able to benefit from the potential incoming salary bump. 

She may have not brought in viewership the way Clark did—but she certainly molded the future generation, including Clark, who posted an Instagram Story captioned “legend” following Taurasi’s announcement. 

Planning Ahead

Taurasi spent all 20 seasons with the Phoenix Mercury, but the team’s offseason moves signaled they were ready to compete with or without their franchise’s most iconic player.

The Mercury acquired five-time All-Star Alyssa Thomas and two-time All-Star Satou Sabally, both of whom will serve as replacements for Taurasi and center Brittney Griner, who left for the Atlanta Dream.

With 2021 Finals MVP Kahleah Copper in the fold, the Mercury, on paper, have the talent to compete with the All-Star-laden championship contenders like the New York Liberty, Las Vegas Aces, and Minnesota Lynx.