WNBA supermax contract, explained: Salary, length, details on league's new format for highest-paid players

In a matter of days, WNBA players will be seeing their bank accounts flooded with zeroes.

For decades, WNBA players were feeding off proverbial scraps, seeing their contract values artificially lowered compared to their counterparts in other sports.

Armed with an impressive collection of talent -- and plenty of labor organizing -- the players secured a new collective bargaining agreement. The deal allows players to seek out just rewards for their glistening skillsets. Suffice to say, many of the league's best players are readying for the opportunity to hit the open market and secure glitzy deals.

With that, here's what you need to know about the WNBA's supermax contract, pacts that should prove all the more common in the days and weeks to come.

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What is a WNBA supermax contract?

The WNBA's supermax refers to the maximum amount a WNBA franchise can offer a player. Supermax contracts are designed as a way to reward the league's best players for their efforts. It also incentivizes loyalty -- players with at least five years of service time on their current teams are eligible for the prize, provided they were selected to the All-WNBA's first or second teams and/or picked up an MVP or Defensive Player of the Year in the past three seasons.

Supermax contracts account for a higher percentage of the salary cap than any other contract. In 2026, the supermax contract will make up 20 percent of the $7 million cap. In the previous CBA, that figure sat at 16.5 percent.

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The latest CBA won't merely increase the supermax figure. It also offers a quicker pathway for young talent to land maximum and supermax contracts, according to ESPN's Alexa Philippou. A new provision, called "EPIC" (Exceptional Performance on Initial Contract) allows players on their rookie deals to renegotiate what would have been the fourth year of their rookie contract and instead sign a three-year contract extension.

That extension will allow them to earn a maximum contract (if they were previously named to the All-WNBA first or second team) or a supermax contract (if they previously won MVP).

Players who could cash on in the W's latest edict include Aaliyah Boston (All-WNBA in 2025), Caitlin Clark (All-WNBA in 2024) and Paige Bueckers (All-WNBA in 2025).

How much is a WNBA supermax contract?

The supermax will start at $1.4 million, according to ESPN. That's nearly a 600 percent increase on last year's mark. By comparison, players who ink maximum contracts -- that is, the largest deals available to stars who don't hit the conditions for a supermax contract -- will bring in $1.19 million in 2026.

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How much was the previous WNBA supermax contract?

In 2025, the supermax sat at $249,244. Fever guard Kelsey Mitchell was the highest paid player in the WNBA in 2025, bringing in $269,244. Of that total, $20,000 came from a bonus.

All told, four players were given a supermax contract last year: Mitchell, Jewell Loyd (Aces), Kahleah Copper (Mercury) and Arike Ogunbowale (Wings).

Who is eligible for a WNBA supermax contract?

With 80 percent of the league slated to hit the open market for free agency, there are a fair few candidates set to contend for potential supermax deals. The Las Vegas Review-Journal reported that the Aces are expected to offer four-time MVP A'ja Wilson a supermax extension "as soon as possible." Liberty star Breanna Stewart and Lynx standout Napheesa Collier are expected to command similar offers from their respective franchises.

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WNBA supermax contracts vs. NBA

While the WNBA supermax had leapt to heights never before seen athe women's basketball level, it still pales in comparison to the value of the NBA supermax. Warriors supernova Stephen Curry ranked as the NBA's highest-paid player during the 2025-26 season, bringing home upwards of $59 million in salary.

Celtics star Jayson Tatum boasts the largest contract in league history, having inked a five-year, $314 million extension with Boston that went into effect ahead of the 2025-26 season. In terms of average annual value (AAV), the title of NBA's highest-paid player belongs to Thunder standout Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, who is pocketing $67.9 million a season.

Regardless of your approach to measuring wealth at the NBA level, it is clear that the money on offer in the men's game far surpasses that of its sister league. For example, Curry's 2025-26 salary is 42 times larger than Wilson, Stewart and Collier's will be.

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