It’s the year of women’s basketball, and, yes, that includes the WNBA.
The NCAA had arguably the best regular season and tournament it’s ever had. That was led by Caitlin Clark, of course, in her final season at Iowa. The all-time scoring leader is headed to the pros after (literally) the best four years of college basketball most have ever seen.
While the former Hawkeye was the biggest name in college basketball, she’s not the only one taking her talents to the next level. This year’s WNBA draft class is filled with talent from top to bottom, and the top prospects are expected to make an immediate impact.
MORE: Iowa-South Carolina National Championship sets viewership record
That’s easier said than done. The jump from college to professional basketball is no easy feat, whether you’re a No. 1 pick or undrafted. It doesn’t help that lately, the pressure of making a team is more overwhelming than the draft itself. Like every league, the WNBA has a limited amount of space for players, but as the game has grown over the past few years, the league didn’t follow as expected, causing handfuls of cuts last season.
Making a WNBA roster is harder than ever, so the pressure is on for the draft class of 2024.
MORE: 2024 WNBA Mock Draft
WNBA roster squeeze, explained
The better the WNBA gets, the harder it is to sign with a team.
There’s a maximum of 144 spots in the league, 12 per team, not including hardship exceptions or training camp contracts. Sometimes, teams don’t even field all 12 players due to salary caps.
In 2024, the league has a salary cap of $ 1,463,200, which rises by three percent every year. That’s a hard cap, meaning teams absolutely cannot go over that number during the regular season unless the league grants a player a hardship exception.
Individual salaries vary, obviously, with rookie minimums beginning at $ 64,154 and vets (more than six years in the league), core franchise players, and rookie extensions reaching a minimum of $ 241,984. For teams like Las Vegas, that makes it hard to roster 12 players. In 2023 — and likely this season, too — the Aces opted to roster a star-studded team with A’ja Wilson, Kelsey Plum, and Chelsea Gray rather than fill out the team entirely. But if they or another team fall below 11 roster spots, they must sign another player within 72 hours.
MORE: Highest paid, average, and rookie salaries in the WNBA in 2024
The limitations WNBA rosters face took a noticeable toll in the 2023 preseason. Rookies and vets alike were cut from their teams, including six of the top 24 draft picks from 2023. Just 15 of 36 draftees appeared on opening day rosters.
The following are some of the notable players waived during last year’s preseason:
- Connecticut Sun – Alexis Morris
- Dallas Wings – Kalani Brown, Charlie Collier (2021 No. 1 pick)
- Indiana Fever – Destanni Henderson
- Los Angeles Sparks – Monika Czinano
- Minnesota Lynx – Brea Beal
- Washington Mystics – Emily Engstler (2022 No. 4 pick)
As one expects, WNBA players sounded off in frustration about the continuous cuts around the league. Some called for Commissioner Cathy Engelbert to have more urgency in expanding the league. Others called for a quicker solution in roster expansions.
*Draft new players with fans who are ready to support them and the league
*Player gets waived because not enough spots *Fans no longer want to support the league as a whole
Ugh this is stressful 🤦🏾♀️— Rhyne Howard 🤟🏾🈳 (@howard_rhyne) May 17, 2023
We pushing get more teams in the W!
NO
EXTEND the roster to 14 players!
That’s just a quick signature!!
Adding a new teams gotta got thru 500000 layers!Adding 2 more spots to 12 teams is 24 more spots in the league! This is a easy change!
— Erica Wheeler (@EWeezy_For3eezy) May 16, 2023
Larger media rights deal + expansion = more teams, more spots, charters, pension…
— Breanna Stewart (@breannastewart) May 17, 2023
The former is now true, as Engelbert announced in October that the Bay Area will get a team in 2025. There are other cities, such as Toronto and Portland, vying for expansion teams, but no other franchises are in the works currently.
A growing media rights deal would help salaries and roster space, too. The day after South Carolina won the NCAA championship with record-setting viewership, Engelbert said the league is looking to double its next media rights deal. It’s currently at $ 60 million from deals with Disney, Amazon Prime Video, and Ion.
However, until that happens, there will be more “surprise” cuts to WNBA rosters, likely including several of the players drafted on Monday night.
