Right after being selected by the Dallas Wings as the No. 1 pick in the 2026 draft, Azzi Fudd’s rookie contract details quickly spread across the internet. She is set to become the highest-paid rookie in league history, and when you compare her deal to Paige Bueckers’ contract from just a year earlier, it really highlights how massive this new agreement is.
With the new collective bargaining agreement now in place, Fudd and the rest of the incoming draft class are benefiting in a big way. As the top pick, Fudd is expected to sign a four-year deal worth $2.2 million, including a $500,000 salary in her first season.
Bueckers’ situation looks very different by comparison. She signed a three-year rookie contract in 2025 worth $247,688, earning just $78,831 in her first year. That deal came before the new CBA, but it has since been adjusted. Her salary is now set to rise to $500,000 in 2026, $550,000 in 2027, and $621,500 in the final year of her contract.
The gap between their rookie-year salaries is striking, with Fudd set to earn $421,169 more than Bueckers did in her first season.
To put it in perspective, even a third-round pick in the 2026 draft is expected to earn around $270,000 in their first season. That’s actually more than the total value of Paige Bueckers’ original rookie contract, which really shows just how dramatically the new CBA has shifted the pay scale for all players.
Azzi Fudd speaks about reunion with partner Paige Bueckers
Azzi Fudd and Paige Bueckers made their relationship public midway through 2025, and ever since, their reunion with the Dallas Wings has been one of the most talked-about storylines in women’s basketball.
With that narrative now turning into reality, fans got to hear about Fudd’s opinions on how she feels about sharing the court and locker room again with her partner and former UConn teammate.
“Paige is an incredible player. Everybody knows that. She is someone that makes playing basketball easy,” Fudd said. “And so I think just the prior experience, knowing how to play with her, play off of her, will only help going into this.”
“Our time at UConn felt like — it was just full of injury, full of like either I was playing, she wasn’t, she was playing, I wasn’t,” Fudd said. “So I can’t wait, obviously, to play with her again, but to play with every single one of them.”
The first look at the Paige Bueckers and Azzi Fudd backcourt in the WNBA is expected during the Wings’ preseason matchup against the Indiana Fever on Apr. 30.
Read More: Azzi Fudd Makes Feelings Known About Paige Bueckers Reunion, Wings Core Team
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