WNBA Draft: Azzi Fudd earns $500K rookie salary as Dallas Wings’ top pick
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Azzi Fudd reunited with former UConn Huskies teammate Paige Bueckers while the Dallas Wings earned the first overall pick in the 2026 WNBA Draft on Monday night.
And Fudd comes with a historic payday in the league.
Fudd is set to make $500,000 in his rookie year after a new collective bargaining agreement was signed between the league and the players association last month; That’s a huge pay bump from the $78,831 Bueckers earned as the first overall pick of the WNBA Draft last season.
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Azzi Fudd poses with WNBA Commissioner Cathy Engelbert after being selected first overall by the Dallas Wings during the 2026 WNBA Draft at The Shed on April 13, 2026 in New York City. (Angelina Katsanis/Getty Images)
This comes as WNBA teams’ salary cap is also set to increase from $1.5 million to $7 million in 2025, bringing with it the first million-dollar contracts. The game’s best, from league veterans to Draft newcomers, are getting paid.
Fudd will certainly be happy to see her paychecks, but she’s also excited to make an impact with the Wings and the WNBA.
PAIGE BUECKERS MAKES WNBA HISTORY IN OFFENSIVE EXPLOSION, SPARKS VET LAST LAUGHS
“I’m not sure I have the words to explain what that feeling means,” Fudd said after being drafted. via ESPN. “I don’t think it’s fully sunk in. It’s not something I could have ever imagined. Sitting there with my family, with Morgan (Valley), hearing your name called, the feeling of going there. It’s such a surreal feeling.”
Fudd also got excited when discussing his reunion with Bueckers.
“Paige is an incredible actress, everyone knows that,” he explained. “Someone who makes playing basketball easier.”
Olivia Miles poses with WNBA Commissioner Cathy Engelbert after being selected second overall by the Minnesota Lynx during the 2026 WNBA Draft at The Shed on April 13, 2026 in New York City. (Angelina Katsanis/Getty Images)
With the acquisition of Fudd, the Minnesota Lynx locked up Olivia Miles out of TCU; this was Fudd’s biggest challenge in the first general election. But Miles isn’t missing his payday because he’s scheduled to make $466,913 with the second overall pick.
Center Awa Fam Thiam from Spain is committed to the Seattle Storm and will earn a salary of $436,016 for the 2026 WNBA season. Then national champions Lauren Betts (Washington Mystics), Gabriel Jacquez (Chicago Sky) and Kiki Rice (Toronto Tempo) rounded out the top six.
UCLA also broke UConn’s record of selecting four players in the first round, set by the Huskies in 2002. Angela Dugalić rounded out the group after Washington took ninth place overall, keeping her alongside Betts heading into the league.
Another notable name was LSU guard Flau’Jae Johnson, who was selected eighth overall by the Golden State Valkyries, but his rights were traded to the Storm in exchange for the rights to Marta Suarez from TCU. The Storm had taken him with the first pick of the second round. The Valkyries also received a 2028 second-round draft pick in the deal.
Lauren Betts poses with WNBA Commissioner Cathy Engelbert after being selected with the fourth overall pick in the first round by the Washington Mystics during the 2026 WNBA Draft at The Shed on April 13, 2026 in New York City. (Angelina Katsanis/Getty Images)
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Overall, every drafted player on a team entering the regular season will earn more than any other WNBA player through the 2025 season; The $270,000 minimum salary is higher than last year’s maximum salary of $249,244.
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