Sabrina Ionescu contract details: how much money does the WNBA star make a year?
The 26-year-old remains one of the game’s biggest stars and with that, she’s now heading back to the WNBA Finals, but how much does she make?
While the introduction of rookies like Caitlin Clark and Angel Reese has brought a significant amount of attention to the WNBA in recent months, the fact remains that stars such as the New York Liberty’s Sabrina Ionescu are equally deserving of attention. Indeed, following a 2023 campaign that was mired by injury, Ionescu has once again shown she is one of the league’s best players.
The 26-year-old has surpassed several career landmarks during the past three years. In 2021, she became the youngest WNBA player to record a triple-double - joining an elite group of 14 players to have achieved the feat. In 2022, she recorded several career highs including the most points in one game (37), pulling down the most rebounds (13), and dishing out the most assists (16).
Sharp shooting Sabrina Ionescu is worth every penny and probably more
She hit the headlines for scoring 26 points with just 11 shots in a sizzling 26-minute display against the Minnesota Lynx, which she capped off with eight assists and eight rebounds. And last year she made history in the All-Star Skills Challenge contest, scoring an astonishing 37 points in the Starry three-point contest - she missed just two shots, the first from the first rack and the last from the fourth rack - a historic feat never achieved before or since by any NBA or WNBA player. She smashed the previous record of 31 set two years previously by Steph Curry - the man she took on in the first-ever NBA versus WNBA 3-Point Challenge.
Indeed, it’s been quite a journey for Ionescu since the New York Liberty selected Ionescu with the first overall pick in the 2020 WNBA draft. In May 2022, New York exercised its fourth-year team option to extend Ionescu’s rookie contract through the 2023 season and in May of that year, she signed a two-year contract extension with the franchise worth $410,060 - all $410,060 of it guaranteed with an annual average salary of $205,030. This year, she will earn a base salary of $202,000, while carrying a cap hit of $202,000.
The player said of her extension at the time, “I’m thankful and honored to be able to represent the New York Liberty for the next couple years. [Owners] Joe and Clara Wu Tsai, [General Manager] Jonathan Kolb, and the entire Liberty organization has been nothing short of amazing over my time here, and I’m thrilled to work towards bringing a championship back to New York City.”
Incidentally, she may be about to do just that as she and the Liberty are heading back to the WNBA Finals after defeating the Las Vegas Aces on Sunday night 76-62 in Game 4 of their series to take a 3-1 win. Regarding the game itself, Ionescu was outstanding as she scored 22 points, grabbed seven rebounds, and dished out two assists in the win against the team that defeated the Liberty in last year’s Finals. Ionescu and Co. now await the winner of the Connecticut Sun-Minnesota Lynx series in the WNBA Finals.