Know everything you need to know about the 2021 WNBA Salary Cap and CBA along with the salaries of teams and minimum pay
There is a limit to what a team in the WNBA can spend in the salaries of the players. The limit is also known as the Salary Cap. The Salary Cap is decided on the CBA. Now the question arises what is the CBA?
Collective Bargaining Agreement aka CBA is an agreement between the league and the WNBA players association. This document outlines the rules and functioning of the league including the salary cap and other disciplines. With that being said, let’s take a deeper look in the 2021 WNBA Salary Cap.
2021 WNBA Salary Cap Explained
As explained earlier the Salary Cap is the maximum total salary of all the players in a team that the team can spend in any given year. Several other leagues in the US have exceptions to going over the salary cap but not in the case of WNBA.
Teams can only go over the salary cap if the WNBA has granted them an exemption on the basis of any emergency hardship. The Salary cap for 2021 is set at $1,339,000 (1.3 million). It has also been agreed that the salary cap will increase 3% annually all the way through 2027.
What is the minimum pay?
Just like the salary cap there is also a limitation on the minimum pay of the players. A team has to spend at least $1,120,700 ($1.1 million) in team salaries. If the team somehow manages to not meet the minimum salary mark the team has to make additional payments to players to rectify the situation.
How many players can a team have in WNBA?
Under normal conditions the team can have a maximum of 12 players in their roster in the WNBA. Moreover, a team cannot have less than 11 players in the team throughout the season. If in any given situation if the total number of players is less than 11 the team has to sign a player within 72 hours. Injuries are obviously an exception to this.
How is the salary cap expected to grow by 2027?
The salary cap is guaranteed to grow by 3% annually till the 2027 season. Take a look at the exact figures of team average and league wide salary cap below:
| YEAR | AVERAGE | LEAGUE-WIDE |
| 2021 | $1,245,300 | $14,943,600 |
| 2022 | $1,282,600 | $15,391,200 |
| 2023 | $1,321,100 | $15,853,200 |
| 2024 | $1,360,700 | $16,328,400 |
| 2025 | $1,401,600 | $16,819,200 |
| 2026 | $1,443,600 | $17,323,200 |
| 2027 | $1,486,900 | $17,842,800 |