Azzi Fudd will earn $500,000 in her WNBA rookie campaign
NEED TO KNOW
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The former UConn standout's salary is $424,000 more than Caitlin Clark made in her 2024 rookie season
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Fudd will join girlfriend and 2025 rookie of the year Paige Bueckers on the Dallas Wings this season
Azzi Fudd, the No. 1 pick of the 2026 WNBA Draft, is set to make big money in Big D.When the former UConn standout joins girlfriendPaige Bueckers, 24, on the Dallas Wings for the upcoming season, Fudd, 23, will take home $500,000 thanks to the new collective bargaining agreement (CBA) signed by players last month.Fudd’s salary is roughly $424,000 more than the $76,832 thatCaitlin Clarkearned in 2024, her first year in the league.Bueckers, last season’s rookie of the year, made $78,831 in 2025.
Still, as the third No. 1 WNBA/NBA draft pick to go to Dallas in the last two years, Fudd’s compensation pales in comparison to Mavericks rookieCooper Flagg’s paycheck.Flagg, 19, earned nearly $14 million for his freshman campaign — in which he’s in the running for rookie of the year — with the Mavericks.Before the new CBA went into effect, players across the league clamored for equal pay, given that the league’s popularity has soared since Clark’s arrival on the scene.
Previous to the new agreement, the average WNBA base salary was around $102,000, while the NBA average is about $13 million, according toSpotrac's data analyzed bySIandBasketball Reference.In July 2025, WNBA players sent a message to the league ahead of playing in theWNBA All-Star Gameby wearing warm-up shirts that read "Pay us what you owe us."
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"That’s one of the things we're in the room fighting for," Clark, who was a team captain, toldUSA Todayof the plea at the time. "We should be paid more and hopefully that’s the case moving forward as the league continues to grow."As far as Fudd’s concerned, she’s excited to earn her keep.
"I can't wait. Obviously, Paige [Bueckers], Arike [Ogunbowale], getting to watch them and then seeing their new pieces,” she told reporters on Monday. “I'm so excited. I can't wait to get there. I can't wait to learn how to play with them, learn how they play, their style of play and how I can contribute.”
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