“Liz Cambage Isn’t Thrilled: WNBA Coach‑Player Pay Gap Sparks Outrage”

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🔥 Cambage’s Public Frustration

Liz Cambage — the 30‑year‑old Australian center and former Las Vegas Aces star — recently took to social media with a scathing critique of the WNBA’s compensation structure. She highlighted how new Aces head coach Becky Hammon is poised to earn over $1 million annually, while even the league’s highest‑paid players on supermax contracts earn wages around $228,000 per season Sporting News+12SI+12CBSSports.com+12.

Cambage’s tweet read bluntly:

“ahhh yes the @WNBA, where a head coach can get paid 4X the highest paid players super max contract. lmao and y’all think imma spend another season upgrading my seat on a flight to get to games out of my own pocket.” SELF+1SBNation.com+1FOX SPORTS+6CBSSports.com+6UPROXX+6

The message sparked conversation over the glaring disparity: one year’s coaching salary eclipsing the maximum income a player can earn under the collective bargaining agreement.

📊 Understanding the Discrepancy

At issue is not only the base salary gap but the structural inequality underpinning it:

• Coach Compensation

Reports confirm Becky Hammon will earn just over $1 million per season as head coach of the Aces, making her the highest‑paid coach in WNBA history Reddit+7Sporting News+7Just Women’s Sports+7.

Other notable coach salaries: Nate Tibbetts (Phoenix Mercury) around $1.2 million; Becky Hammon about $1 million; Sandy Brondello and Curt Miller earning in the $500K–$700K range Popsugar+15Reddit+15Reddit+15.

There is no salary cap on coaches — their compensation is negotiated by individual franchises and not limited by revenue or CBA provisions SBNation.com+3Reddit+3FOX SPORTS+3.

• Player Compensation

Under the current CBA, the supermax contract pays a maximum of approximately $228,094 per season (e.g. Breanna Stewart) FOX SPORTS+4SI+4Las Vegas Review-Journal+4.

Liz Cambage earned roughly $221,450 during the 2021 season, tied for among the highest-paid players that year CT Insider+9SBNation.com+9Just Women’s Sports+9.

The entire team salary cap is set just under $1.38 million, barely above what one coach alone could earn Sporting News+2Las Vegas Review-Journal+2FOX SPORTS+2.

WNBA player salaries constitute only about 10–20% of league revenue, versus NBA players who receive about 50% of revenue Reddit+3Wikipedia+3Teen Vogue+3.

🚨 Cambage’s Broader Critique

Cambage pointed not only to pay inequality, but also to inadequate travel and working conditions:

She has previously paid out of pocket to upgrade airplane seats, highlighting the league’s policy requiring teams to travel commercial and often split across flights — a challenge for taller players like herself FOX SPORTS+3CBSSports.com+3SBNation.com+3.

The issue is emblematic: top college programs and international leagues reportedly pay players significantly more (5‑8x in Cambage’s case), which influenced her decision to sit out multiple WNBA seasons and pursue overseas contracts SISporting News.

Despite expressing support for Hammon’s achievement, Cambage insisted there’s still much work to be done:

“I love it for Becky… I hope everyone makes a million dollars a year one day. But until then, we’ve got to work out better ways to give us, the players, more.” Las Vegas Review-Journal+4Sporting News+4SBNation.com+4

👥 Reaction from Ownership and Players

Aces owner Mark Davis publicly backed Cambage’s observation and pledged support for improved player treatment:

He agreed “100 percent” with her critique, calling for more generous compensation and charter flight provisions akin to male professional leagues The Guardian+15UPROXX+15Reddit+15.

Davis emphasized that coach salaries exist outside the salary cap to signal investment in the WNBA’s growth, though he acknowledged the players deserve more recognition and pay Sporting News+12Las Vegas Review-Journal+12UPROXX+12.

Players across the WNBA have echoed similar frustrations:

Napheesa Collier noted that top coaches earn four times more than the highest-paid players did in 2023—a striking comparison that many deemed unsustainable Sporting News+8Just Women’s Sports+8SELF+8.

At the 2025 All‑Star Weekend, WNBA players protested by wearing T‑shirts reading “Pay us what you owe us” and chanting during the MVP ceremony, drawing attention to stalled CBA negotiations and stagnant salary levels The Guardian+2CT Insider+2Popsugar+2.

📅 Timeline & Context

Event
Details

Feb 1, 2022
Cambage tweets her critique, calling attention to coach‑player salary imbalance Front Office Sports+7CBSSports.com+7SBNation.com+7.

Early 2022
Becky Hammon’s contract announced at ~$1M/year; player supermax capped at ~$228K SIFront Office Sports.

2023–2024
As league revenue and media deals rise, players still earn a small fraction of revenues; CBA talks nearing expiration The GuardianPopsugar.

July 2025
Players protest during All‑Star Game, reinforcing demand for fair pay and new CBA prioritizing revenue sharing and better conditions CT InsiderThe Guardian.

🎯 Why It Matters

Structural Imbalance
The WNBA’s coaching contracts are outside the revenue‑sharing structure, whereas players are constrained by a salary cap and CBA rules. Coaches’ salaries are negotiated individually and not subject to the constraints placed on players RedditFront Office Sports.

Visibility vs Valorization
Despite WNBA’s surging popularity and record-breaking media rights deals ($2.2 B over 11 years from Disney, Amazon, NBCU), salaries have not kept pace, and revenue-sharing remains minimal for players Popsugar.

Living While Playing
Because salaries are modest, many players—including Cambage—play overseas in the offseason to make ends meet. Cambage’s prior earnings in China and elsewhere reportedly 5–8x her WNBA salary SISporting News.

Calls for Equity & Fairness
WNBA union leaders like Nneka Ogwumike and players like Kelsey Plum have emphasized that players are not demanding NBA-level pay—they want a fair percentage of league revenue, aligned with their contributions to growing the sport CT InsiderPopsugar.

🌟 Conclusion

Liz Cambage’s unfiltered criticism struck a chord: here is a premier athlete, a former All-Star, pointing out that a head coach earns four times more than the top player under the league’s current structure. Her comments reflect frustration with inconsistent valuation of athletes versus administrators, inequitable revenue allocations, and inadequate travel arrangements.

While WNBA leadership and team owners like Mark Davis acknowledge the issue and publicly support deeper investment in player welfare, fundamental reform hinges on the ongoing CBA negotiations and a shift in revenue‑sharing philosophy.

Cambage may be a free agent and unlikely to return to the Aces, but her statement crystallizes a broader player-led movement: women’s basketball deserves to be treated—and paid—like the record-breaking success it has become.