With the WNBA’s growth in reach and popularity in recent years, debate over whether its stars are compensated fairly has intensified. Many players in the league have called for better pay, and even NBA legends have joined the conversation.
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Dwyane Wade, for instance, has invested heavily in the WNBA because he expects significant returns. So, when his father, Dwyane Wade Sr., brought the pay debate up on a recent podcast, it provided an intriguing perspective.
Wade Sr. loves the fact that the WNBA has become increasingly popular in recent years. That is a sentiment most would echo. He may also be speaking for he knows up close the impact since his son is part-owner of the Chicago Sky franchise, whose star, Angel Reese, is one of the most recognizable players in the country today.
Then there are players like Paige Bueckers, Caitlin Clark, and Sophie Cunningham, who are attracting new fans to the league every day. As viewership grows, teams and organizers are generating more revenue than ever before. Franchise valuations have entered nine figures. So why should the players miss out on their share? That was exactly Wade Sr.’s point.
“I think they deserve more money,” Wade Sr. said. “That’s the number one thing… A lot of those players they’re just as good as we are, as men are. They shoot just as good.”
Wade Sr. makes a valid point that it is not about pitting men against women. It is about recognizing that women play basketball just as excitingly as men. And frankly, they do.
Wade Sr. went on to compare basketball with golf and stated that women are better at the sport than men are. “So basketball, the women look better than us [men],” he declared. “They shoot better, so they deserve more.”
At the moment, a storm seems to be brewing between the players and officials in the league. WNBA commissioner Cathy Engelbert found herself in hot water when Napheesa Collier accused her of saying that Clark “should be grateful” to the league for providing the platform without which she would not have earned millions from endorsements.
Rest of the statement: pic.twitter.com/QuQgV3SBVI
— Oh No He Didn’t (@ohnohedidnt24) September 30, 2025
Engelbert denied those claims. But Clark, arguably the biggest star in the WNBA, appeared to side with Collier. Now, there’s huge distrust between management and the players, who are the primary reason the WNBA has gotten as good as it is.
Engelbert recently signed a new $2.2 billion TV rights deal, set to take effect in 2026. If the players do not start earning more, there is likely to be unprecedented backlash soon. It would be a huge shame if the league’s reputation took a hit because of this standoff, especially with former NBA legends like Wade putting in money because they believe in its future.
Why Wade invested in the Chicago Sky?
Wade became part-owner of the Sky in 2023, and his family was a major factor in that decision. Just as his son Zaire has role models to look up to in the NBA, Wade wanted his daughter Kaavia to have them as well.
“He had a dream of being like his favorite players. You understand the importance of role models, and so, I want my daughter to have that same feeling,” said Wade in a 2024 interview.
It is natural that Kaavia will grow up as a fan of the Sky and may even look up to Reese, whom Wade has supported heavily since her debut a year ago. The Sky finished second-to-last in the league in 2025. Both Wade and Kaavia will surely hope to see that change in the coming years.
