2026 WNBA Draft No. 1 pick Azzi Fudd is in for a raise, as rookie salary increases show just how much the new WNBA CBA has impacted player pay across the league.
The Dallas Wings selected Fudd with the No. 1 overall pick in Monday night’s WNBA Draft, making the UConn guard the latest face of a new financial era. Fudd will earn a $500,000 base salary as a rookie — the highest first-year payday in league history.
The 2026 WNBA draft class will see a large salary increase under the new CBA pic.twitter.com/28I9xGb7D8
— Just Women’s Sports (@justwsports) April 13, 2026
That number stands out even more in context. Indiana’s Caitlin Clark made $76,535 as the No. 1 pick in 2024, while fellow Wing Paige Bueckers earned $78,831 as last year’s top pick. Fudd is now in line to make more than six times Bueckers’s rookie salary just one year later.
Her contract also escalates quickly. Fudd is set to make $520,000 in 2027 and $572,000 in 2028. And should Dallas exercise its team option, she could subsequently earn $646,360 in 2029.
The jump comes directly from the WNBA’s new CBA. The CBA raised the salary cap from $1.5 million to $7 million while also increasing revenue share. That shift reshaped rookie scale contracts across the board, giving the 2026 WNBA Draft class a dramatically different financial starting point.
However, Fudd assured reporters that she’s focusing on more than the paycheck in Dallas.
“I can’t wait,” Fudd said. “Obviously, Paige (Bueckers), Arike (Ogunbowale)… I can’t wait to learn how to play with them. Learn how they play, their style of play, and how I can contribute.”
The rest of the class will also benefit. First-round picks are expected to take home an average of $386,000 as rookies. In comparison, last year’s first-rounders averaged roughly $75,000 per year.
As the No. 1 pick, Azzi Fudd enters Dallas with both heightened expectations and an unprecedented deal, broadening the WNBA’s horizon for future generations.
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