The reinforcements for the Indiana Fever are here! Stephanie White signed Aari McDonald squad was reduced to just 8 active players after losing Caitlin Clark, Sophie Cunningham and Sydney Colson. Cunningham and Colson went down in the same game against the Connecticut Sun with contact injuries. 

Over the course of her four-year WNBA career, Aari McDonald has averaged 8.6 points, 2.8 assists, and 2.0 rebounds per game. The Indiana Fever gain a reliable and experienced guard in an emergency situation, with all of their regular point guards currently unavailable. McDonald most recently played for the Los Angeles Sparks during the 2024 season, where she averaged 8.7 points per game across 26 appearances. Let’s find out how much she will earn at the Fever this season. 

What is Aari McDonald’s net worth?

Aari McDonald was drafted third overall by the Atlanta Dream in the 2021 WNBA draft after playing college basketball at the University of Washington and the University of Arizona. So she has built up a fair amount of wealth after lucrative NIL deals and WNBA contracts. She owns a BMW X3k, along with a Toyota Camry so she is doing fine on the financial front so far.

According to Sports Dunia, her net worth as of 2025 stands at $1 million to $1.5 million. This valuation takes into account her earnings from her WNBA career, her international career in China and Australia and other endorsements. This is an approximation and not a final figure. 

What is Aari McDonald’s contract breakdown?

McDonald was a restricted free agent this year. The Los Angeles Sparks gave her a qualifying offer worth $93,767, but she did not sign it by the Mar. 7 deadline. She later signed a training camp contract worth $78,831 with the organization, but she went into camp competing with a lot of guards and was waived in the end by the Sparks. 

What is Aari McDonald’s salary?

McDonald was supposed to earn $78,831 for one season at Los Angeles sparks but was eventually waived and only received a per-day compensation for her participation in the training camp. The exact amount she received from the Sparks is unknown.

Aari McDonald’s Career Earnings

Following are her career earnings via the WNBA:

What is Aari McDonald’s Emergency Hardship Exception Contract With the Indiana Fever?

After being waived by the Sparks, she signed a hardship contract with the Indiana Fever on June 1. The hardship contract is only valid till the Fever’s injured players come back to full fitness. The WNBA emergency hardship exception allows any team to sign a player, with immediate effect, if a team drops below 10 game-eligible players at any time, which the Fever did with three injured players so they could sign McDonald in an emergency. It does not have the benefits like the normal contract. She will receive a per day salary based on her 3+ years of experience until her services are required. The exact amount she will receive is reportedly $51,174 per season, which comes down to about $497 per day, according to Richard Cohen.

A look at Aari McDonald’s College and Professional Career

McDonald was drafted third by the Dream in 2021 after leading the Arizona Wildcats to their first national title game in program history. The Washington and Arizona product won three Pac-12 scoring titles and was twice named an All-American. She averaged 19.1 points per game over four years of her college career and more than 20 in her three years at Arizona. 

She spent her first three years with the Atlanta Dream. McDonald averaged 6.3 points, 1.6 rebounds and 2.0 assists in 30 games and was subsequently named to the WNBA All-Rookie Team. During the 2023 season, McDonald helped Atlanta qualify for their first playoff berth since 2018. She was traded to the Sparks for Jordin Canada and the 2024 1st round pick.

She played 26 games for Los Angeles, missing some of last season due to an injury. She averaged 8.7 points, 2.0 rebounds, 3.7 assists, and 0.9 steals in 21.8 minutes per game. The guard has spent the past two offseasons playing overseas and had a breakout year in the Australian WNBL the year before last and followed it up with another strong outing in China with the Beijing Great Wall this year. She averaged 15.2 points, 3.7 rebounds, 3.9 assists, and 2.0 steals in 27.3 minutes per game in 34 games for Beijing. She played well in the Sparks’ only preseason game this year. She scored 12 points in just over 16 minutes of play against the Golden State Valkyries.

She brings some needed manpower for the Indiana Fever, who are having an underwhelming start to the season with a 2-4 start to the 2025 season. They have lost three games on the trot so hopefully McDonald will improve the situation for Stephanie White. The Fever will have a rematch against the Washington Mystics on Tuesday after they lost the first game 83-77.