A social media post comparing the earnings of WNBA star A’ja Wilson and NBA rookie Bronny James has reignited discussion around the structural pay gap between men’s and women’s professional basketball.
The post, which has circulated widely online, listed Las Vegas Aces forward A’ja Wilson at an average annual salary of around $1.67 million, compared to Los Angeles Lakers guard Bronny James at approximately $1.97 million per year on his rookie contract.
Wilson recently signed a three-year, $5 million supermax extension with the Las Vegas Aces — the richest deal in WNBA history — reflecting her status as one of the league’s most decorated players.
James, selected 55th overall in the 2024 NBA Draft, is on a standard four-year rookie-scale contract worth roughly $7.9 million in total, set under the NBA’s collective bargaining system for late second-round selections.
While the headline figures appear relatively close, the comparison underscores a broader and long-standing disparity between the NBA and WNBA in revenue distribution, salary caps and overall league economics.
The NBA generates significantly higher broadcast and commercial revenue, which feeds into its salary structure, while the WNBA operates under a smaller collective bargaining framework despite recent growth in viewership, sponsorship and investment.
The viral comparison has therefore become less about the two players themselves, and more about the ongoing financial gap between the men’s and women’s professional game in basketball.