The last WNBA Finals came to an end with the Las Vegas Aces winning the championship. It was overall a thrilling season which became the most-watched regular season in 21 years. Viewership across its national television partners – ABC, CBS, ESPN and ESPN2 – was up 21 percent over the 2022 season. The league also set new highs across WNBA digital platforms, social media engagement and sports betting.
Many fans believe that WNBA players should make as much money as NBA players make but the truth is that they get paid less because the WNBA has lesser fans and viewers. However, this year the WNBA champions will be taking home a handsome amount of cash.
WNBA finals payout, tournament prize pool
The WNBA has been criticized by many for underpaying its athletes. However recent developments, including an injection of cash by investors and the introduction of expansion teams in 2025, appear to be changing the financial landscape for the league. Recent reports unveiled that the Champions would get a prize of $500,000. For this historic 27th postseason, every WNBA player listed on a team roster at the end of the regular season will receive a bonus.
The runner up players will receive a sum of $7,746 each. The champions will be receiving a substantial amount of $20,825. The Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA) that came into effect before the 2020 season initially offered a bonus of $11,356 per player for the championship-winning team. However, this figure has been renegotiated, setting the championship bonus at $20,825 per player, which stands as the highest bonus that the WNBA can offer to its champions.
In addition to all of this, the finals MVP will be taking home an additional $15,450, on top of the included in the $500,000 cash prize.
WNBA payout compared to NBA Championship winners
WNBA players often complain that they earn less in comparison to their male counterparts in the NBA. While their dissatisfaction is understandable, they need to understand that just like in the fashion Industry where women make more money than men, the opposite happens in the sports industry.
In the NBA, there is no prize money awarded to the team that wins the championship. There is, however, a pool of $15 million – funded by playoff gate receipts – that is distributed to teams as they advance through the playoffs. Each team can choose to divide the playoff dollars however they wish. The NBA Championship winners receive much more money than the WNBA winners.
Draymon Green, the Golden State Warriors star spoke about the disparity of payment between NBA and WNBA players. He said, “I’ve been seeing a lot of talk about the pay gap between women and men. Especially in sports. It’s not even close,”
Green went on, “But let’s stop allowing y’all complaints to fall on deaf ears due to numbers. As long as y’all make the argument about pay, while the revenue stays the same they will continue to point at the revenue not being high enough to cover bigger salaries. While that is true in damn near every business, how do we take that card out of their pockets? That’s the key to changing the pay.”
He added, “There’s no argument for lack of revenue unless you make those that say they stand for women actually stand up. The NBA wasn’t always the global game that it is today. It wasn’t always driving as much revenue as it does today. But there were people behind it, building the platform, and more importantly telling INDIVIDUAL stories and building up the interest in the players. That’s how the game took off. Who’s building up y’all platform? Who’s telling the individual stories of how great y’all are? Building the interest and transforming women’s basketball into a global game?”
He also called for more stories to be told about women’s basketball so fans can have a better connection with the game and players.
What are your thoughts on NBA championship winners receiving much more money than the WNBA winners? Feel free to share with us in the comments below.
