A’ja Wilson Returning to Las Vegas Aces, Agrees to Largest Contract in WNBA History

What do Patrick Mahomes, Jayson Tatum, Juan Soto, and Kirill Kaprizov all have in common? They’re all some of the best players in their respective sports, multiple All-Star selections, and among the most popular athletes in their fields. They are also the best compensated players in their sports leagues, courtesy of having the largest contracts in their domains.

Now, you can add A’ja Wilson to this list as she’s agreed to the largest contract in WNBA history.

The WNBA’s only four-time MVP has agreed to remain with the only team she’s ever known in the Las Vegas Aces. Wilson is signing a contract that will pay her $5 million over three years.

With the league’s new Collective Bargaining Agreement just agreed to within the last few weeks, Wilson’s deal is the supermax and the most allowable under the CBA. She will earn $1.4 million for the 2026 WNBA season, which will then increase over the following two years. She can earn up to 20 percent of the Aces’ salary cap.

“A’ja is truly one of one, who has led this franchise to where it is today,” stated Aces President and GM Nikki Fargas. “Not only has she catapulted into the history books and surpassed almost every record in existence, but she does so with the utmost confidence, authenticity and grace. We look forward to continuing to see her thrive in an Aces uniform.”

While Wilson’s deal is undoubtedly historic and marks great progress in both the WNBA and women’s sports as a whole, the contract still pales in comparison to the biggest signed by those aforementioned athletes in the NFL, NBA, MLB, and NHL. Among those four, Kaprizov’s deal is the smallest at $136 million, which is still over 27 times the amount of Wilson’s deal.

Tatum’s contract is over $300 million, Mahomes’ deal is north of $400 million, and Soto owns the biggest contract in North American sports. The New York Mets outfielder is on a 15-year deal that will pay him $765 million.

Last season, Wilson became the first player to collect a fourth WNBA MVP award, moving out of a tie with three-time winners Sheryl Swoopes, Lisa Leslie, and Lauren Jackson. Wilson’s previous Most Valuable Player awards came in 2020, 2022, and 2024, thus also making her only the second player ever to win back-to-back MVPs, joining Cynthia Cooper (1997 and 1998).

Regular season MVP awards aren’t the only Most Valuable Player trophies that Wilson has on her mantle, as she also won WNBA Finals MVP awards in both 2023 and 2025. She is a three-time champion, a three-time Defensive Player of the Year winner, a six-time All-WNBA selection, and has a pair of scoring titles to her name. Wilson was also recognized by the Associated Press last year as the AP Female Athlete of the Year, joining Candace Parker (twice) and Caitlin Clark as the only WNBA players to receive that honor.

With all of her accolades and the history she’s made on a WNBA court, it only makes sense that Wilson would make history with her record-breaking contract. Only one other WNBA player has a supermax contract, and that’s Kelsey Mitchell of the Indiana Fever. Mitchell will earn the same $1.4 million this season that Wilson will earn; however, Mitchell’s contract is for just one season while Wilson’s runs through 2028.

Over her eight-year WNBA career, Wilson has averaged 21.4 points, 9.3 rebounds, 2.3 assists, 2.0 blocks, and 1.3 steals. She tops several all-time leaderboards and ranks first in WNBA history in both points per game and PER (28.89) while ranking third in rebounds per game and fourth in blocks per game.

Wilson has been a driving force in the dominance of the United States Women’s National Basketball Team over the last few Olympic cycles. She collected Olympic gold medals in both 2020 and 2024 and FIBA World Cup golds in 2018 and 2022. She is expected to be a centerpiece of USA Basketball’s quest for another FIBA World Cup gold medal at this year’s event in September.

With Wilson now back in the fold for Las Vegas, the defending champions are retaining 90 percent of their scoring from last season, including each of their top seven scorers. They also added veterans Stephanie Talbot, who won the 2020 MVP award in Australia’s top women’s basketball league, as well as Brianna Turner, a two-time WNBA All-Defensive team selection.

On the draft side, the team selected Janiah Barker at the end of the second round and Jordan Obi with the penultimate pick of the 2026 WNBA Draft in the third round.

The Aces are clearly reloading with a chance to make WNBA history by winning a fourth championship in 2026. That would tie them with the Houston Comets, Minnesota Lynx, and Seattle Storm for the most by a single franchise.

The 2026 WNBA season will begin on May 8 with six teams in action, while Las Vegas will start its regular season campaign a day later as the Aces host the Phoenix Mercury.