Jackie Young, the WNBA’s first million-dollar player, highlights league’s boom as more expansion teams set to join

With a bitter labor fight behind them, WNBA players are starting to reap the rewards after years of gross underpay, even as the league continues to grow.

A new CBA has officially set the WNBA in uncharted territory. And Black women are reaping the early benefits.

As free agency began earlier this week, several players made big moves, from Angel Reese being traded from the Chicago Sky to the Atlanta Dream to Brittney Griner being dealt to the Connecticut Sun, who will soon be the Houston Comets. However, the biggest splash came in the form of Jackie Young becoming the league’s first million-dollar player.

Young, unlike teammates A’ja Wilson and Chelsea Gray, is the subtle member of the Aces’ big three and lets her game do most of the talking on the court. By signing a one-year, $1.19 million deal on Thursday, Young is setting a precedent, one that more WNBA stars will likely follow.

Consider what Young’s earnings were under the previous collective bargaining agreement. As the Aces rolled to a third WNBA title in 2025, Young made $169,950 after making her fourth All-Star Game and being named as a second-team All-WNBA selection. Her new salary is more than six times what she made in 2025, and other stars, including Wilson, Alyssa Thomas, Breanna Stewart and Arike Ogunbowale, are likely to join Young in the $1 million club, with Wilson, Thomas and Stewart likely to earn the league’s supermax distinction of $1.4 million a season. Kesley Mitchell, a star guard on the Indiana Fever, became the first player to sign a supermax deal when she re-signed with the Fever on Friday.

More money, more expansion

With the addition of the Portland Fire and Toronto Tempo to the league for the 2026 season, the league currently fields 15 teams. Three more teams are set to join the WNBA in the near future. On Thursday (Apr. 9), the WNBA and the NBA Board of Governors approved expansion teams for Cleveland, Detroit and Philadelphia. Cleveland will begin play in 2028, Detroit in 2029 and Philadelphia in 2030.

The move brings a bit of renewal to the cities of Cleveland and Detroit. Cleveland was part of the WNBA’s inaugural group of franchises in 1997 with the Rockers. In 2001, they had their best season before being shocked in the playoffs by the Dawn Staley-led Charlotte Sting. Two years later, the franchise folded. Detroit also had a WNBA franchise, the Shock. Five years after entering the league in 1998, they would win the first of three WNBA titles before relocating to Tulsa and later Dallas. The old Shock are now the Dallas Wings. It’s unclear whether the Detroit franchise will inherit all of the Shock’s prior records and history once the new franchise begins play.

The WNBA is riding a wave of expansion heading into its 30th season. Buoyed by marketable stars, increased television ratings and interest in the game, there will be more revenue and financial records broken when it’s all said and done. With Young setting the early standard, it won’t be long before the bank keeps getting broken over and over again by players and stars who benefit from the legends who played before them.