WNBA legend Diana Taurasi has ignited a fierce debate about player salaries in the league, claiming in a new documentary that she earned less than a janitor at the arena during her WNBA career. Her candid remarks, made in the Amazon Prime Video docu-series “Taurasi,” have shed a harsh light on the financial disparities faced by even the most elite female athletes and have resonated deeply amidst ongoing discussions about the WNBA’s Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA) which is set to expire after the 2025 season.
“The F***ing Janitor Made More Than Me”
In a particularly striking moment from her new documentary, Diana Taurasi, widely considered one of the greatest women’s basketball players of all time, expressed her frustration with WNBA earnings. She stated, “I’m the best player in the world, and I have to go to a communist country to get paid like a capitalist.” This powerful statement refers to her long-standing practice of playing overseas in Russia during the WNBA offseason, where she earned significantly more.
The most provocative part of her revelation came when she asserted, “The f***ing janitor at the arena made more than me.” This stark comparison has become a rallying cry for those advocating for higher WNBA salaries and has quickly gone viral, fueling widespread discussion across social media and sports media.
The Reality of WNBA Salaries and Overseas Play
Taurasi’s comments highlight a long-standing issue in the WNBA: the significant pay gap between its players and their male counterparts in the NBA, and even between WNBA players and employees in other roles within the same facilities. While WNBA salaries have seen incremental increases over the years, with the average base salary for 2025 being around $147,745, and top players earning upwards of $250,000, these figures pale in comparison to what elite male athletes command or even what some administrative and operational staff might earn.
For much of her career, Taurasi, like many other WNBA stars, relied on lucrative overseas contracts to supplement her income and build generational wealth. In 2015, she famously accepted $1.5 million from UMMC Ekaterinburg in Russia to sit out the WNBA season, a sum that was reportedly more than ten times her WNBA salary at the time. This necessity for players to leave their home country and spend extended periods away from family underscores the financial pressures they face.
Sparks Fly: The Public Debate and Its Implications
Taurasi’s outspokenness has reignited a crucial debate about fair compensation for WNBA players. The timing of her remarks is particularly poignant, coming just weeks after the 2025 WNBA All-Star Game where players wore shirts emblazoned with “Pay Us What You Owe Us,” signaling their demands for increased salaries in the upcoming CBA negotiations.
The debate has seen various reactions:
- Support for Players: Many fans, analysts, and fellow athletes have voiced strong support for Taurasi, empathizing with the struggle to make a living despite being at the pinnacle of their sport. They argue that WNBA players generate significant revenue and deserve a larger share of the league’s profits, pointing out that players currently receive less than 10% of league revenue, compared to the NBA’s 50% split.
- Economic Realities: Others argue that the WNBA’s revenue generation is not yet on par with leagues like the NBA, and salaries are commensurate with the league’s financial standing. They suggest that while improvements are needed, the direct comparison to a janitor might be an oversimplification of the complex economic model of professional sports.
- Call for Greater Investment: The controversy has also amplified calls for increased investment in the WNBA from owners, sponsors, and media partners, arguing that with proper marketing and resources, the league’s revenue potential could significantly increase, allowing for higher player salaries.
As the WNBA approaches its CBA negotiations, Diana Taurasi’s powerful words are sure to be a prominent talking point, adding significant weight to the players’ demands for fair and equitable compensation. Her raw honesty has undoubtedly pushed the conversation about pay equity in women’s sports to the forefront.
