Diana Taurasi says she never got paid like Kobe Bryant: “I should’ve get paid for being the best basketball player in the world”

Diana Taurasi has been one of the WNBA’s most elite players for two decades. The problem was that she was never paid like one. That’s why the 2009 MVP hopes to see the best women’s basketball players receive the compensation they deserve when the next collective bargaining agreement takes effect.

“I always thought about I should’ve get paid for being the best basketball player in the world, not for doing social media or doing commercials,” Taurasi told Front Office Sports back in August. “That was one of the things I always had the most angst about. I don’t wanna do commercials, I don’t wanna be a spokeswoman for every product in the world.”

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The gender pay gap in American basketball

Taurasi was one of the most vocal proponents of raising WNBA players’ salaries. She lamented having to play overseas during the offseason to supplement her meager pay, claiming that the janitors made more money than she did.

For Taurasi, they needed to be paid because of their skills, just like their male counterparts.

“When I think of the NBA, Kobe got paid to be the best basketball player in the world. Jokic got paid to be the best basketball player in the world. I think we need to change that, shift into women’s basketball. Like, that’s what you are. Let’s get paid for that and hopefully, the next CBA can reflect that,” Taurasi continued.

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For context, Kobe Bryant was the league’s highest-paid star for three seasons (2009-10, 2013-14, and 2014-15). He was the second player to secure a $30 million salary for a season, which occurred in 2013-14. Michael Jordan was the first, signing a $33 million deal with the Chicago Bulls in 1997-98. Interestingly, Nikola Jokic has never been the top-paid player, but he will earn over $55 million in 2025-26, just behind Stephen Curry’s $59.6 million.

According to Forbes in 2024, NBA players were paid substantially more than WNBA players. The average WNBA annual salary is $150,000, while the average NBA salary is nearly $10 million, roughly 67 times more.

While it’s true that the NBA reaches a worldwide audience compared to the WNBA, the previous CBA wasn’t helping the women’s crusade for better pay. WNBA players receive a much smaller percentage (around 10 percent) of the revenue. In comparison, NBA players receive 50 percent of the league’s revenue pie.

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Of course, the counter-argument is that the NBA earns way more than the WNBA, and that is a fact. However, the latter is closing the gap little by little, with estimates projecting a revenue of around $1 billion in 2025, driven by superstars like Caitlin Clark, Angel Reese and others.

If the WNBA stars play their cards right in the CBA negotiations, the days of securing summer jobs abroad will be long gone.

Related: “They offered to pay me to rest” – Diana Taurasi explained her decision to sit out the 2015 WNBA season

What the WNBPA is looking for

It’s understandable why Taurasi (and many others) call out the lopsided revenue-sharing model of the past CBA. However, without a deal in sight in the near future, it looks like the process has done little to convince players that real progress has been made.

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According to ESPN, “the WNBA’s latest proposal includes an uncapped revenue sharing model that would raise maximum salaries above $1.3 million (up from $249,244 in 2025) and growing to nearly $2 million over the life of the deal; average salaries to above $530,000 (up from $120,000 in 2025) and growing to more than $770,000 over the life of the deal; and minimum salaries to in excess of over a quarter of a million in the first year alone (up from $66,079 in 2025).”

Additionally, the union wants 30 percent of the gross revenue, while the league counters with 15 percent, roughly equivalent to one-half of the net revenue.

Although the negotiations are far apart, it’s already a step in the right direction. Regardless of the outcome, WNBA players can expect substantial pay raises and additional benefits from the revenue-sharing overhaul, whether it’s 30 or 15 percent of the gross income.

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Taurasi will unfortunately no longer be there, having announced her retirement in February. Nonetheless, the scale of the new negotiations suggests the league can no longer ignore the standard that she pushed for.

Related: “Kobe shut us off” – Nick Van Exel Reveals the MJ advice that Changed Kobe Bryant’s career

This story was originally published by Basketball Network on Jan 1, 2026, where it first appeared in the WNBA section. Add Basketball Network as a Preferred Source by clicking here.