WNBA Coach Salary: Ranking Top 5 Highest Paid

A coaching mindset embodies a fresh approach to leadership, prioritizing the empowerment of individuals and teams over mere directive commands in the WNBA. It entails posing impactful inquiries, engaging in active listening, and offering immediate assistance to aid players in breaking through opponent’s defense formations and realizing their potential.

WNBA head coaches receive increasing pay but their salaries remain much lower than NBA coaching incomes. According to recent data WNBA head coaches collect salaries between $200,000 and $1 million annually yet the highest salaries normally go to coaches with notable profiles.

Reportedly, according to CBS, out of the 13 teams from the WNBA, seven franchises have parted ways with their league coaches in the last month.

The difference in pay showcases how men dominate the higher earning positions compared to women in both sporting leagues. WNBA operates with less funding than its male counterpart leading to reduced coaching compensation levels and decreased overall available resources. The NBA generates substantially larger revenue and TV deal contracts leading to increased coaching salaries beyond what the WNBA can afford.

Also Read: Top 10 Highest-Paid WNBA Players Of All Time

Ranking 5 Highest-Paid WNBA Coaches and Their Salaries

Nate Tibbetts, Phoenix Mercury coach achieves 1.2 million dollars annually in earnings representing a large sum yet NBA coaches earn significantly more. NBA head coaches receive salaries ranging from $4-5 million per year to more than $10 million per year with the highest earners being Gregg Popovich and Steve Kerr. Here are the 5 highest paid WNBA coaches and their salaries.

#5. Sandy Brondello, New York Liberty

The New York Liberty team in the WNBA has Sandy Brondello in the position of their head coach. She began her head coaching tenure with Liberty in January 2022 and secured a $500,000 yearly salary which ranks as among the top coaches in WNBA.

As a head coach, Brondello secured two WNBA titles by guiding the Phoenix Mercury to victory in 2014 then doing the same with the New York Liberty as their coach in 2024.

During 2014 she received the WNBA Coach of the Year award when she led the Phoenix Mercury to break a league record of 29 victories while winning the championship. The New York Liberty achieved their Commissioner’s Cup Championship first under Brondello’s leadership during 2023 establishing it as a major milestone for the team.

#4. Cheryl Reeve, Minnesota Lynx

The Minnesota Lynx in the WNBA has Cheryl Reeve holding both the coach and President of Basketball Operations positions. For 2024 she is among the top earners when it comes to league coaches as her annual salary stands at $700,000.The Lynx won four WNBA championships during Reeve’s leadership in 2011 and again in 2013, 2015, and 2017 respectively.

Cheryl Reeve has received WNBA Coach of the Year honors a total of four times throughout her career. First in 2011 then again in 2016 and finally both in 2020 and 2024. USA Basketball recognized Reeve as assistant coach before she secured gold medals for the U.S. women’s national team during the 2016 along 2020 Olympic campaigns.

#3. Lynne Roberts, Los Angeles Sparks

The Los Angeles Sparks WNBA team has Lynne Renee Roberts as its current head coach. Before taking the Los Angeles Sparks job she worked as University of Utah’s head coach between 2015 to 2024.

The Los Angeles Sparks gave Roberts their head coach position in November 2024 as she entered her 27th year of collegiate coaching experience. Her annual salary is approx $709500.

Under her Utah coaching period, the Pac-12 granted her their Coach of the Year designation for 2023. Under her coaching tenure, Utah participated in NCAA Tournament brackets and this record established itself as a historic accomplishment for the basketball program.
During her time at Pacific University the University granted Big West Coach of the Year recognition to Roberts in 2013.

#2. Becky Hammon, Las Vegas Aces

The coach of the Las Vegas Aces WNBA team is Rebecca Lynn Hammon. Her annual salaries total $1 million, establishing her position as one of the WNBA’s elite coaching income earners.
The WNBA title victory of 2022 occurred when Becky Hammon guided the Las Vegas Aces to their inaugural championship. The 2022 season gave Rebecca Hammon her WNBA Coach of the Year recognition.

Hammon established the first milestone by working full-time as a paid assistant coach for the San Antonio Spurs NBA team ahead of her Aces coaching role, on New Year’s Eve in 2021, the Las Vegas Aces management hired Becky as a head coach. And then she etched the history with her memorable work.

Hammon made NBA Summer League history by becoming the first woman to take charge of an NBA Summer League team which earned her and Spurs squad the league championship crown in 2015.

The steak continued, and she acted as head coach in 2020 on December 30 when Gregg was ejected from the court during the game between the San Antonio Spurs and Los Angeles Sparks in the NBA. Through her numerous accomplishments, Hammon created groundbreaking achievements for women’s basketball and substantially influenced the sport’s development.

#1.Nate Tibbetts, Phoenix Mercury

The Phoenix Mercury WNBA team has Nate Tibbetts at their lead as its head coach. His annual salary surpasses all other WNBA coaching salaries amounting to $1.2 million per year. The result positions him as the highest-paid coach in WNBA history.

In 2001 Tibbetts led his first assistant coaching role with the Sioux Falls Cougars then worked at the Sioux Falls Skyforce and finished his early coaching period. Tibbetts built his NBA coaching experience by working as an assistant in the Cleveland Cavaliers, Portland Trail Blazers, and Orlando Magic.

The Mercury team under Tibbetts’ first-year (2024) leadership achieved a 19-21 win-loss outcome that gained them the 7th position in the Western Conference playoffs. Tibbetts received induction into the Hall of Fame at the Coyote Sports Hall of Fame of the University of South Dakota when he joined in 2014 through his collegiate sports accomplishments.

The WNBA community rather prefers a black woman to one who has little experience in the woman-dominated league. Nevertheless, Nate Tibbetts reasonably took the criticism and said that he was “all in” for the requested role in October 2023, as per The Next. Though Nate admitted that he lacked WNBA knowledge, he had a plan to execute and had faith in the Phoenix players to execute it on the hard court.

Also Read: Ranking Top 5 Richest WNBA Players – Sportsdunia

Top 5 Highest-Paid WNBA Coaches and Their Salaries

Here is a brief overview of the top 5 highest paid WNBA Coaches and their respective salaries along with the years when they were appointed

Rank	Coach	Team	Year	Salary
5	Sandy Brondello	New York Liberty	2022	$500K
4	Cheryl Reeve	Minnesota Lynx	2010	$700K
3	Lynne Roberts	Los Angeles Sparks	2025	$709.5K
2	Becky Hammon	Las Vegas Aces	2022	$1 million
1	Nate Tibbetts	Phoenix Mercury	2023	$1.2 million