WNBA Star DiJonai Carrington Calls Out the ‘W vs NCAA’ Money Narrative After Olivia Miles and Azzi Fudd Stay Back in College

The landscape of women’s basketball is witnessing a significant shift. Last season’s record-shattering success has built up an unprecedented anticipation for the upcoming season. While things are changing rapidly in the WNBA, the NCAA stars are bucking up to make their major debut. However, DiJonai Carrington isn’t happy with some of the decisions being made by collegiate-level stars.

The NCAA tournament is about to come to a close. With that, there’s a lot of excitement about the players who will enter the transfer portal or move up to the WNBA this year. However, the decisions made by Olivia Miles and Azzi Fudd have sent shockwaves throughout the league.

UConn’s Fudd has declared that she will return to the Huskies next year. The decision was co-signed by Stephen Curry, who tweeted, “Proud of you Azzi!” from his X account. Notre Dame’s Miles, on the other hand, has decided to forgo the draft and enter the NCAA’s transfer portal.

Shams Charania reported, “Notre Dame’s Olivia Miles – the projected No. 2 pick in the WNBA draft this month – will forgo the draft and enter NCAA’s transfer portal, sources tell ESPN. The 22-year-old top prospect makes unprecedented decision to use her one year remaining of college instead of the draft.”

The unprecedented decisions made by top prospects have made people reflect on the pay disparity between the NCAA and WNBA.

Notre Dame's Olivia Miles – the projected No. 2 pick in the WNBA draft this month – will forgo the draft and enter NCAA's transfer portal, sources tell ESPN. The 22-year-old top prospect makes unprecedented decision to use her one year remaining of college instead of the draft. pic.twitter.com/NaODcCzc38

— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) April 1, 2025

However, Carrington isn’t willing to give any credibility to those discussions. While she agrees that the college players get paid a lot of NIL money, the belief that they wouldn’t make as much in the W is ill-informed.

“This $$$ narrative with the W vs NCAA is sooooooo tired YES(!!!) we should (and WILL) get paid much higher salaries BUT you can still make that same $$, it’s just no longer called NIL money … it’s called endorsements,” she wrote on her X profile. The points raised by her are valid, as a player like Miles, who was slated to be the number two draft pick, would’ve made bank through endorsements.

This $$$ narrative with the W vs NCAA is sooooooo tired 😩 YES(!!!) we should (and WILL) get paid much higher salaries BUT you can still make that same $$, it’s just no longer called NIL money … it’s called ✨endorsements✨🙂
*sent with love*

— dιjonaι carrιngтon♛ (@DijonaiVictoria) April 1, 2025

Although the salary issue is still persistent in the WNBA, top players are making a lot of money through endorsements. UConn’s Paige Bueckers also explained the same during a conversation. She said, “Once you get to the league, the title changes. It’s no longer NIL deals, it’s just endorsement deals.”

watch paige, a college athlete, explain how nil works when you transition to the wnba. https://t.co/BMAsd6IstH pic.twitter.com/Q3KpjBLhQR

— ⋆.𐙚 ̊. (@babymarri11) April 1, 2025

Bueckers said that the brands that have partnered with athletes aren’t going to leave them once they make it to the WNBA. The business partnership continues, and it’s just the title that changes. So, in reality, there isn’t much to be concerned about.