Diana Taurasi 2024 Wage: How A lot Did the Mercury Legend Earn in Her Ultimate Season Earlier than Retirement?

“One of the simplest ways to elucidate it’s that we have now Diana and also you don’t,” UConn head coach Geno Auriemma as soon as stated earlier than she led the Huskies to their third nationwide title. “And each different group on this match needs that they had her.”

Let’s be actual—Diana Taurasi isn’t just a few basketball participant. She’s straight-up legendary. Twenty seasons with the Phoenix Mercury? Yeah, that’s not only a profession; that’s a whole period. Three WNBA rings, a mountain of awards, and a legacy that’s mainly the gold commonplace for anybody selecting up a basketball.

The Ultimate Act: A farewell tour of unforgettable moments of Diana Taurasi

Now that she’s strolling off the courtroom for the final time, everybody’s left questioning, “Whoa, what even was that closing season?” Followers, analysts, and the league alike are soaking in each little bit of her journey. From her explosive begin as a hotshot rookie to evolving into an OG veteran, her relentless grind and unmatched expertise have been nothing wanting spectacular.

Even her hardest opponents—a lot of whom grew up idolizing her—may solely tip their hats. Breanna Stewart known as her “the usual for all of us,” whereas longtime teammate Brittney Griner summed it up: “There’ll by no means be one other Dee.” All through 2024, each WNBA area reworked right into a stage for her farewell, with standing ovations, heartfelt tributes, and an outpouring of affection that underscored simply how deeply she impacted the sport.

Diana Taurasi performed the 2024 WNBA season below a two-year, $469,872 contract with the Phoenix Mercury. Signing the deal in 2023, she locked in a $234,936 wage for her closing season. With no group or participant choices, she ensured her farewell could be with the franchise that had been her house for twenty years—a becoming finish for a lifelong Mercury.

Her WNBA earnings, modest in comparison with NBA salaries, nonetheless positioned her among the many league’s high 10 earners in 2024, a testomony to her enduring worth even within the twilight of her profession. Breaking it down, Taurasi made about $19,578 per thirty days, $4,518 per week, and $644 per day. On a per-minute foundation (over 525,600 minutes in a 12 months), she earned roughly $0.447. For context, Stephen Curry, the NBA’s highest-paid participant in 2024, earned over $51 million—he made extra in a single quarter than Taurasi did in a whole season.

Diana Taurasi towards the chances: Constructing a League with Grit and Grace

Regardless of racking up practically all of her 10,646 profession factors with out year-round entry to elite services or full assist employees, Taurasi’s championships got here with out the backing of extravagant salaries. “She constructed this league,” Sue Fowl remarked, including that Taurasi was “one of many causes we even had one thing to battle for when it got here to higher pay and sources.”

Past the hardwood, Taurasi’s life has been as dramatic and provoking as her sport. Marrying former teammate Penny Taylor on Might 13, 2017—“essentially the most wonderful and exquisite day of our lives,” she stated—the duo constructed a lifetime of shared triumphs. One unforgettable anecdote: after a playoff win in Las Vegas, Taurasi rushed to Phoenix, arriving simply in time for Taylor to provide beginning. Their son arrived in 2018, adopted by a daughter in 2021, additional highlighting that her legacy extends properly past basketball.

She went conquering courts throughout continents. Whereas her WNBA wage earnings tallied as much as an estimated $1.15 million over her career, Taurasi’s true monetary triumph was solid abroad. Enjoying for elite golf equipment resembling Dynamo Moscow, Spartak Moscow, Fenerbahçe, Galatasaray Medical Park, and UMMC Ekaterinburg, she secured six EuroLeague titles and a number of championships in Russia and Turkey. At her peak overseas, she was among the many highest-paid ladies’s basketball gamers on this planet.

Many WNBA stars, together with Breanna Stewart and Brittney Griner, have mirrored this worldwide path—incomes considerably extra in Europe than within the U.S. At one level, Taurasi even sat out the complete 2015 WNBA season when UMMC Ekaterinburg paid her to relaxation, a savvy transfer that each prolonged her profession and maximized her earnings. Usually incomes upwards of $1.5 million per season abroad, she maintained monetary stability whereas constantly sharpening her aggressive edge. In the course of the 2024 All-Star Weekend in Phoenix, she mirrored on the sacrifices made by WNBA gamers: “It’s a sacrifice I look again on. And it was an enormous, big sacrifice you’ve bought to make for you and your households. Hopefully we will have [higher salaries] right here. And we will develop the league.”

Daina Taurasi’s milestones and contract historical past that cemented a legacy

Taurasi’s profession earnings within the WNBA come from a number of contracts she signed all through her profession. Beneath is a breakdown of her most notable offers:

February 18, 2023: Signed a two-year, $469,872 contract with the Phoenix Mercury.

February 1, 2021: Signed a two-year, $449,544 contract with the Phoenix Mercury.

Might 16, 2017: Signed a four-year, $466,000 contract extension with the Phoenix Mercury.

2012: Signed a multi-year extension with the Phoenix Mercury.

2004: Drafted first general by the Phoenix Mercury and signed her rookie-scale contract.

All through her time within the WNBA, all of Taurasi’s contracts had been totally assured, guaranteeing she acquired everything of her negotiated wage. Her closing deal in 2023 cemented her standing as one of many league’s highest-paid gamers, even within the later years of her profession.

Diana Taurasi’s estimated internet price stands at roughly $3.5 million. Whereas her WNBA wage contributed to this, her European contracts, endorsements, and sponsorship offers additionally performed a big function. Through the years, Taurasi has partnered with main manufacturers like Nike, Gatorade, and BodyArmor, which have additional boosted her earnings.

Her monetary acumen, mixed together with her on-court success, has allowed her to stay financially secure past basketball.

Daina Taurasi’s enduring influence

Diana Taurasi’s influence on the sport goes past {dollars}. She’s been the fiercest competitor, a real chief, and a cultural icon in ladies’s basketball. Her retirement isn’t only a loss for Phoenix—it marks the top of an period for the complete WNBA. With three championships (2007, 2009, 2014), a league MVP in 2009, two Finals MVPs, and numerous clutch moments, she leaves behind some of the embellished careers within the sport.

Earlier than the Caitlin Clark period, there was Taurasi. Again in her faculty days, ladies athletes not often made headlines, and social media was barely a factor (Fb solely launched in 2004). However successful three straight championships at Connecticut thrust any group and star participant into the nationwide highlight. She dominated video games with a swagger and confidence some may even name cocky, making her essentially the most recognizable face in ladies’s basketball.

From day one, as the primary general draft choose, Diana set the usual for what a rookie may obtain. Her gameplay was electrical, and the on-court chemistry she shared together with her accomplice, Penny Taylor, actually boosted the group. Collectively, they fashioned a dynamic duo that blended ability with coronary heart in each match.

Her worldwide teammates, together with Candace Parker and Maya Moore, praised her as “one of many fiercest rivals” and “the final word winner.” Even rising stars like Caitlin Clark shared her admiration, saying, “Diana’s retirement marks the top of an period, and her legacy will encourage us to push our limits each single sport.”

Whilst she steps away, Taurasi’s influence will proceed to be felt. Whether or not it’s by the gamers she’s impressed, the data she’s set, or the best way she’s pushed the WNBA ahead, her legacy is safe. And whereas she could not be suiting up, one factor is for certain—Diana Taurasi will always be synonymous with greatness.