WNBA Salary Cap Explained: Max Salaries & Supermax

Yes. The WNBA has a team salary cap that limits total roster spending, plus individual maximum-salary rules. It is enforced firmly, closer to a hard cap than the NBA's soft-cap system. Because the WNBA's revenue is far smaller than the NBA's, both the team cap and the individual maximums are much lower, though they are rising as the league grows.

The top individual salary — sometimes called the supermax — is capped in the low-to-mid six figures under the current collective bargaining agreement, a fraction of NBA maximums that run into the tens of millions. The exact figure rises each year of the CBA. This gap is why many WNBA stars have historically played overseas in the offseason to boost their income.

Salaries track revenue, and the WNBA generates far less than the NBA in TV deals, ticketing and sponsorship. Player pay is set as a share of that smaller pie. As WNBA viewership, attendance and media rights have grown rapidly, the case for higher salaries has strengthened, and new labor deals are structured to pass more of the rising revenue to players.

Both are basketball salary systems, but the scale is completely different. The [NBA salary cap](/how-the-nba-salary-cap-works/) is a soft cap with exceptions, luxury tax and aprons, and runs into the tens of millions per team. The WNBA cap is a firmer, much smaller team limit with lower individual maximums. The mechanisms differ, but the shared idea — a cap tied to league revenue — is the same.

Yes. Many players supplement league salaries with offseason play abroad, marketing and sponsorship deals, and league revenue-sharing and marketing pools created in newer CBAs. As the league's popularity has surged, endorsement income for top stars has grown, and new domestic offseason opportunities have reduced the need to play overseas purely for money.

It is expected to rise substantially. With a new media-rights deal and record growth in attendance and viewership, the league and players' union have strong incentives to increase both the team cap and individual maximums in the next collective bargaining agreement. The scale of that raise is one of the most closely watched questions in women's professional sports.

Because rosters are small (around 12 players) and the cap is tight, the WNBA has specific rules for injuries and roster hardship that let teams temporarily sign replacement players. Managing a small roster under a firm cap is a real constraint for WNBA front offices, making every contract and roster spot more consequential than in a deeper, higher-cap league.