The claim contains some truth, but it oversimplifies what has happened with WNBA pay. In 2020, the league and the players’ union agreed to a new collective bargaining agreement that significantly raised salaries, improved bonuses, and added new benefits. The average WNBA base salary rose from roughly $75,000 before the agreement to about $130,000 in recent seasons, with top players able to earn well over $200,000 before endorsements. While these increases are substantial and represent real progress, they do not amount to salaries literally doubling across the entire league. The growth isn’t uniform — star players and veterans saw larger increases, while the minimum salary and rookie contracts did not rise as dramatically.
It’s also important to distinguish between average salary, maximum salary, and total compensation, which may include marketing deals or league-sponsored overseas opportunities. Some headlines emphasize sharp increases in earnings, but those often refer to total compensation rather than official WNBA salaries alone. When comparing league-wide averages, salaries have risen by a large margin but have not doubled within a five-year span. Therefore, the claim exaggerates the scale of the increase, even though WNBA pay has clearly grown.
