WNBA player Sophie Cunningham has revealed that her earnings during her rookie season were so low that she realized she needed another job to support herself financially.
Cunningham discussed the financial challenges she faced early in her professional basketball career, explaining that her take-home pay was approximately $28,000 after taxes and other deductions.
The veteran guard said the amount made her recognize that playing in the WNBA alone was not enough to meet her financial needs at the time.
“My rookie year after tax and everything, I think I made like $28,000.”
Cunningham explained that her salary forced her to consider additional employment despite already playing professional basketball.
“But what I’m getting at is like I was making 28,000 and I was like, I need to get a job. Like I need to actually do something to make money.”
During the conversation, Theo asked Cunningham to confirm whether she had worked another job while competing in the WNBA.
“So you were playing in the WNBA and you have another job.”
Cunningham confirmed that she had and pointed out that other players had faced similar circumstances.
“Yes. And like there’s a girl, she just came out, she plays for Seattle. She actually was working at like a grocery store and playing in the WNBA.”
Cunningham noted that holding a second job was not unusual for players who needed additional income during their basketball careers.
However, she believes the league’s financial situation has improved significantly following changes to its collective bargaining agreement.
“People actually had two jobs, but now because of our new CBA agreement, which is great, it’s going to continue to get better. Like, we’re all making good money now, so we don’t need to.”
