In a WNBA free agency dominated by the aspiration to get lucrative deals, there are certain players like Kelsey Plum and Satou Sabally who aren’t chasing personal gains. Both Plum and Sabally have settled for contracts far below their worth. Now, a WNBA analyst has shared her two cents on this phenomenon and its subsequent pay parity in the circuit.

Speaking on her YouTube channel, sports show host Rachel DeMita addressed this issue. “We are actually seeing a lot of players taking somewhat of a pay cut or not taking what they are exactly worth,” she said. “We have seen with Satou Sabally, she’s taken of a little bit less money. I did not want to see any of the superstar players taking cuts.”

“And what we’ve kind of seen through the WNBA free agency is that there are a lot of superstars who aren’t taking what they are fully worth. And then we’re seeing role players who are taking max contracts. We are seeing across the board. So the parity is very interesting,” DeMita added further.

It’s very important to understand that courtesy of these pay cuts, the teams are getting the leverage to sign more star players, courtesy of new $7M salary cap after the new CBA, resulting in a decorated roster, unlike the rosters of teams that give over $1M salaries even to bench players.

DeMita sees this as a long-term consequence of these pay cuts. “So, there’s going to be a small group of teams who I feel like are going to be really good for the next few years, and then there are going to be some teams that are going to be really bad in the next few years,” she said.

For context, Plum was drafted by the LA Sparks, meaning she was automatically eligible for a one-year contract at a supermax salary of $1.4 M. But as reality set in, Plum settled for a far less amount, amounting to $999,999.

Given her experience and exploits in the W, this salary doesn’t suit a player of Plum’s stature, a two-time WNBA champion. Furthermore her performance in the league has been perennially consistent as well, boasting 15.1 career PPG and a staggering 19.5 points and 5.7 assists in her only season at LA Sparks last year.

Like Plum’s, Sabally’s case is quite similar. After an impressive season with the Phoenix Mercury last year, Sabally left the team. The general sentiment, as it should be, was that Sabally is looking to test her worth in the market. After all, with a strong frontcourt player and honed guard skills, it’s very rare to find in the current landscape.

Furthermore, she had the best three seasons of her career in the last three years, averaging over 16 points in all of them, while also boasting a finals run with Phoenix Mercury last year.

Thus, it was quite likely that Sabally would sign a supermax deal ahead of the season. But just a few days into the signing window, Sabally signed a deal with the NY Liberty. But the bizarre point here again is the salary, accounting for just $815,000, nearly $600K less than the supermax.

The salaries of these players are surprisingly high, given those of some role players, as DeMita said. According to reports, Lexie Hull, a largely off-the-bench role player, is slated to earn over $800K in the season. Along similar lines, Natisha Hiedeman, who moved from the Minnesota Lynx to the Seattle Storm, is also reported to earn over $1M. This is a major shift in the pay structure this season, where players are ready to sacrifice their remuneration for their teammates.

For Sabally, her aspiration of a supermax salary was always going under the radar in the NY Liberty. With three superstars already in her team in Breanna Stewart, Jonquel Jones, and Sabrina Ionescu, Sabally was always going to have to face a pay cut. It became even more prevalent when Liberty gave both Ionescu and Stewart long-term contracts worth $1.1M to maintain the team’s stability and keep all their stars on the roster.

But in terms of Kelsey Plum, she was the main crux of her team even before the free agency started, and the entire LA Sparks revolved around her. It was also the same reason she got a core qualifying offer from the Sparks: they wanted to keep their star player at the helm. Thus, it would be quite convincing for her to negotiate for the supermax rather than Sabally. As a result, the question stands: Why did Plum take such a pay cut?

Kelsey Plum Leaning Towards the Winning Ideology While Taking Major Pay Cuts

For both Kelsey Plum and Satou Sabally, they are entering the 2026 season to emerge as champions. It’s one of the major reasons that they kept their personal gain in the back seat for now. In a report regarding the LA Sparks re-signing Plum, senior NBA Insider Shams Charania clearly highlighted that Plum “opted to sign at discounted rate to give the Sparks financial flexibility to build a title-contending roster.”

It completely underlines that for Plum, she was completely focused on the idea to win with the LA Sparks forward, rather than force a move out. The LA Sparks GM, Raegan Pebley, recently shed light on how Plum’s signing will help the team going forward this season.

“Kelsey brings a rare combination of competitiveness, skill and leadership that elevates everyone around her,” Pebley said. “Her daily standard and preparation set the tone for our team, and she consistently impacts winning through the way she works and competes.”

Notably, for the LA Sparks, it isn’t just Nneka Ogwumike who has benefited the team through a team-friendly deal. Nneka Ogwumike’s return to the Sparks from the Seattle Storm also came with the same provision. Being a top-draw veteran, Ogwumike could have easily negotiated a deal with a team for a supermax salary.

But, instead, Ogwumike chose a homecoming even if she needs to take a salary of around $950,000, even less than Plum’s. Courtesy of Plum and Ogwumike’s pay cuts, the league will see two of the greatest veterans of the W playing on the same team. Courtesy of these players not taking supermax contracts, the LA Sparks have also been able to keep experienced players like Dearica Hamby and bring in players like Ariel Atkins to add further depth, leading to a star-studded team.

All in all, it completely reinforces the idea regarding future parity of the pay cuts that Rachel DeMita was trying to make in her assessment. It immediately sends an alarm through the league, even though the duration is short-term.Yet despite that, it will be interesting to see how the Los Angeles Sparks compete with the decorated roster they have been able to curate in this free agency.

What are your expectations for Kelsey Plum and the LA Sparks this season? Do let us know in the comments.