The former No. 1 overall pick followed her first WNBA All-Star selection with a spiffy new deal — let’s take a closer look at the Liberty’s Sabrina Ionescu contract extension details.
The 2022 and ’23 iterations of the New York Liberty were never going to resemble one another precisely, but the sheer amount of work GM Jonathan Kolb put in this offseason to enhance one of the WNBA’s founding franchises proved to be eye-popping. Major MVP-level acquisitions like Breanna Stewart and Jonquel Jones quickly made the team more than just a trendy championship pick, but a busy offseason on the trade market and in free agency was far from the only big women’s hoops news making waves in the Five Boroughs.
On May 15, just four days before the 2023 WNBA season was due to tip off, the Liberty confirmed that superstar point guard and 2020 No. 1 overall pick Sabrina Ionescu had agreed to terms on a contract extension.
As reported by insider Richard Cohen, the deal is worth $410,060 over two years. The extension kicks in beginning with the 2024 season after Ionescu plays out the final year of her rookie scale contract worth a total of $300,358 over four seasons.
So, now that the former Oregon Ducks phenom is locked in through her age-26 season, what do the finer financial details really look like? Let’s take a closer look at the New York Liberty’s Sabrina Ionescu contract extension.
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Sabrina Ionescu Contract & Salary Details
Rookie contract data via Spotrac; extension numbers as reported by Richard Cohen.
Rookie contract (through 2023)
Length: 4 years
Total value: $300,358
Average annual value: $75,089.50
2023 salary: $86,701
Contract extension (begins 2024)
Length: 2 years
Total value: $410,060
Average annual value: $205,030
Free agency: 2026
Annual contract extension salary numbers
2024: $202,000
2025: $208,060
The deal constitutes a significant pay raise for the Liberty baller, but as several observers have noted, it falls short of a regular max deal ($422,685 total over two years over the same time period), as well as a “supermax” contract ($491,228 total) available to certain players re-signing with their incumbent teams.
Perhaps that’s just the price of building a superteam — but If there is indeed a championship on the horizon for the fully loaded Liberty, expect that the long-term payoffs both on and off the court will more than simply make up for a five-figure discrepancy.
Sabrina Ionescu’s Career WNBA Earnings
CAREER SALARY EARNINGS THRU 2022 SEASON: $213,657
ESTIMATED SALARY EARNINGS THRU 2025 SEASON: $710,418
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