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WNBA Star Sophie Cunningham Makes Big Pay Day Announcement

Originally posted on The Spun | By Tzvi Machlin | Last updated Jul 3, 2025 11:48 AM ET

WNBA star Sophie Cunningham has become a fan favorite ever since her move to the Indiana Fever. But she hasn't just been a warm body on the bench, she's been playing her part and performing very well in the process.

Cunningham led all bench players in scoring in the WNBA Commissioner's Cup Final against the Minnesota Lynx. The end result was a 74-59 win and the Fever's first trophy win since their 2012 WNBA title.

The trophy also came with a tidy sum of cash from the WNBA. Taking to TikTok, Cunningham revealed that she's coming away with a crisp $30,000.

"WINNAS," she wrote in the caption of a video of herself and some teammates dancing in the locker room. "Hello 30k."

@sophiecham
@Aliyah Boston #fyp
♬ original sound - Cambree

The announcement also came with a celebratory twerk for the cameras:

Sophie Cunningham twerking after winning the Cup pic.twitter.com/Z7VTXIG4jV
— BricksCenter (@BricksCenter) July 2, 2025

Hopefully Cunningham is having fun on the court because some of her recent comments are probably going to make things difficult off the court.

Earlier this week Cunningham spoke rather dismissively of the cities of Detroit and Cleveland when asked about the upcoming WNBA expansion to those cities.

"I also think you want to listen to your players too, like, where do they want to play? Where are they going to get excited to play and draw fans?" Cunningham said this week. "Miami would've been a great one, Nashville is an amazing city, Kansas City— amazing opportunity with a huge arena downtown that no one's using."

"I'm not so sure what the thought process is there," the 28-year-old admitted. "... I don't know how excited people are to be going to Detroit or [Cleveland]."

Those remarks led to a massive backlash from Cleveland and Detroit residents, along with many current and former athletes.

Basketball legend Nancy Lieberman might have had the best response to what Cunningham said:

"You might want to talk to LeBron. You might want to talk to Grant Hill... You might want to talk to Julius and Chuck and Allen Iverson."

This article first appeared on The Spun and was syndicated with permission.

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