Azzi Fudd, Paige Bueckers Are Trending Over WNBA Salaries

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Azzi Fudd, Paige Bueckers Are Trending Over WNBA Salaries

Originally posted on Athlon Sports | By Sami Haider | Last updated Apr 13, 2026 10:58 PM ET

The Dallas Wings landed Azzi Fudd with the No. 1 overall pick in the 2026 WNBA Draft on Monday night. The biggest surprise? Her payday looks nothing like what her new backcourt partner received just a year ago.

Fudd finished her five-year run with a career-best 17.3 points per game, shooting 48.1% from the floor and 44.7% from three. After leading the nation with 117 three-pointers and taking the UConn Huskies to the Final Four, she was the obvious choice for Dallas at No. 1.

And the selection put her alongside former Huskies teammate Paige Bueckers, who was the Wings' No. 1 pick a year earlier. The irony of that reunion is in the paychecks, thanks to the new CBA agreement.

Fudd's rookie contract will pay $500,000 in its first year. Meanwhile, Bueckers, taken first in the 2025 draft, made $78,831 from her base salary last season. That $421,169 gap reflects how dramatically the new agreement rewrote the earning floor for incoming players.

With the new WNBA CBA, Azzi Fudd will make $421,169 more than last year's No. 1 pick Paige Bueckers received

(via Spotrac) pic.twitter.com/o35j8HgBPh
— Yahoo Sports (@YahooSports) April 14, 2026

So, from the 2026 season, the No. 1 pick earns $500,000 in year one, with a four-year total over $2.2 million. For context, Bueckers signed a four-year deal for $348,198 just last year. Fudd will make more in her first season than Bueckers' entire original contract was worth.

This new deal also raises existing salaries. Bueckers will see her 2026 pay jump from around $80,000 to roughly $500,000. Fudd called the new numbers life-changing before the draft.

"I mean it's insane. It's huge. It's life-changing. What they were able to negotiate," Fudd said at a pre-draft availability. "I feel like I'm not fully aware of all of the changes that they've made yet."

On draft night, she stayed in that same headspace, saying, “I expect challenges. I expect things to be hard. But I'm excited for that. I'm excited for the change, I'm excited to learn from the incredible players around me."

Fudd expects a challenge and is eager to learn from the league's veterans. Her journey begins May 8 when the league's 30th season starts.

She’s joining a Dallas team that struggled last year at 10-34, but they already have Bueckers, the 2025 rookie of the year. By adding Fudd’s shooting and re-signing veteran Arike Ogunbowale, the Wings have a backcourt designed to win games and are trying to reach the playoffs this season at a minimum.

This article first appeared on Athlon Sports and was syndicated with permission.

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