The WNBA has witnessed a lot of athletes who were phenomenal in the past. Some of the examples include the likes of Sue Bird, Sylvia Fowles, and Maya Moore, who were inducted into the Hall of Fame. Unfortunately, despite having a stellar basketball career, several of the WNBA’s retired stars are having to forge a second career to sustain their living.
Take, for example, Sue Wicks. She has retired from the sport and is a Hall of Famer, too. Yet, at 50 years of age, the retired basketball player has started an aquaculture farm. And that’s not all, Wicks has worked as a college basketball coach, commentator, and also at a fitness startup till now.
Well, Wicks is not alone. Most of the retired WNBA players are having a second career at the moment. And while diving deep into the problems, a concerning trend came up.
Lack Of Proper Payment Is Plaguing Retired WNBA Stars
Currently, the CBA deals are wreaking havoc in the WNBA. With the likes of Angel Reese and Caitlin Clark speaking in favor of equal pay, the situation is looking pretty much vulnerable. And unfortunately, this has always been the case.
The pay in women’s basketball has been far less than what the men get. Speaking about the same, the director of research and insights at women’s sports marketing platform Parity, Risa Isard, said, “The choice is what they do as their second career, not whether they have a second career, women athletes get paid a fraction of what men do while they’re playing.”
Why are retired WNBA players forced to get a second career after retirement?https://t.co/XUMPqSUFZ7
— Debmallya Chakraborty (@DebmallyaC93340) December 15, 2025
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She further added, “Most NBA guys are sitting on tens, sometimes hundreds of million dollars.”
Surely, the pay difference looks to be causing more problems than one can fathom at the moment. And to this day, things are looking pretty sorry for the women as Natasha Cloud slammed the WNBA.
Natasha Cloud Lashes Out At WNBA’s Recent Proposal
The WNBA has come up with a new CBA deal. And as the contract offers a $1 million base salary, the league has decided to rescind the house policy.
Reacting to the same, Cloud did not look too pleased. Lashing out at the same time, Cloud said, “This makes no sense for our younger players, for the players that get cut and are stuck in leases. Instead of teams that bring in replacement players, nor for players in bigger markets. Let alone talking about player safety in safe areas. @wnbacommish we want a girls girl.”
Thus, with things looking sombre, the wait is now for everything to change for the good, soon.