If not the best, Diana Taurasi is undoubtedly one of the greatest the W has ever seen—serving 20 straight seasons with the Phoenix Mercury and earning a record six Olympic gold medals along the way. But her legacy wasn’t just built in the WNBA. In fact, much of her income and acclaim came from overseas, where top women’s players were finally compensated like stars.

The reason? The WNBA’s long-standing pay gap. Well, Taurasi herself put it bluntly,  “The f–king janitor at the arena made more than me,” she said in her self-titled three-part docuseries. That’s the kind of reality that pushed her—and so many other W legends—to find value and respect abroad. So, while the W might not have paid her what she truly deserved back then, make no mistake—Taurasi still ranks among the highest-paid players in league history.

Where Does Diana Taurasi Rank Amongst the Highest-Earning WNBA Players?

DT has been a force in the WNBA for two decades, and over the course of her legendary career, she’s earned an estimated $1,385,416 in salary alone. That puts her among the league’s top five all-time earners. But even with her longevity and dominance, the game has changed. While she ruled the court for over 20 years, it’s because of recent CBA improvements and contract increases for young stars that players like Skylar Diggins and Jackie Young have been able to surpass her in total WNBA salary. So, here’s a comparison table of the top five highest-earning WNBA players:

Diana Taurasi’s Career Earnings

Taurasi has spent her entire WNBA career as the face of the Phoenix Mercury, playing with the franchise from 2004 through 2024. And there’s no one better who knows the journey—over those 20 seasons—from a rookie contract starting around $40,000 to the top end of the league’s salary scale at $234,936 in her later years.

But the saddest part is that, despite being the league’s biggest star for much of that time, Taurasi never earned more than $234,936 in a single WNBA season due to the league’s financial structure during the bulk of her career. And yes, her total WNBA salary earnings—around $1,385,416—are quite impressive, yet they’re now being surpassed by a younger generation.

How Taurasi’s Earnings Compare to All-Time and Current High Earners

Well, let’s not forget—Diana Taurasi isn’t just a WNBA legend for her playmaking and trash talk. She’s also living proof of just how underpaid women in the league have been for decades. But here’s where the landscape has shifted—finally.

Taurasi’s lifetime earnings have now been overtaken by stars like Skylar Diggins-Smith, who sits atop the all-time list with a career total of around $1.77 million. And she’s not alone. Even, younger talents like Jackie Young, Kelsey Mitchell, and Jewell Loyd are now earning more in a single season than Taurasi ever did in her prime. Young leads with $252,450 per year, Mitchell follows closely at $249,244, and Loyd pulls in $245,508.

And, it’s not just inflation—it’s correction. A long-overdue one.

Overseas Income and Pay Controversy

Even after her retirement last year, Diana Taurasi has been using her loudest voice to push for better pay in women’s basketball. Well, because she has known it best.

Remember back in 2015? The Phoenix legend made headlines by sitting out the WNBA season altogether after signing a $1.5 million deal to play for UMMC Ekaterinburg in Russia. Well, that paycheck was more than ten times her WNBA salary.

“I had to go to a communist country to get paid like a capitalist,” she famously said then. And for years, she spent WNBA offseasons in Europe, sacrificing rest and family time just to earn what she believed she deserved. So yes, that was how the financial gap between WNBA and international pay pushed Taurasi—and many others—to the edge.

Impact on Future WNBA Player Salaries

Well, Taurasi’s outspokenness, especially as seen in the new docuseries Taurasi, helped ignite momentum behind collective bargaining efforts and brought national attention to the reality of WNBA salaries. While Taurasi herself won’t benefit directly from the newer pay structures, her advocacy laid the groundwork for today’s players.

I mean, at least she’s spreading awareness about how it’s been and how she’s struggled over the years. Though maximum base salaries have risen sharply since her prime—from roughly $117,000 in 2019 to nearly $250,000 in 2025—the battle for equity is far from over.

Despite projected league revenues nearing $200 million by 2026, WNBA players take home less than 10% of that—far below the NBA’s 50-50 revenue split. Also, rookie salaries remain modest, with stars like Caitlin Clark earning around $76,000 in their first year.

So, Taurasi’s legacy is not just in her stats or titles, but also in the fire she lit under the league to do better.