Olivia Miles swept the 2026 WNBA Rookie of the Year voting, taking home a $15,000 bonus.
Olivia Miles put up an incredible rookie campaign, averaging 19.8 points, 6.0 assists, and 4.7 rebounds per game. She capped off her historic season by breaking the all-time rookie scoring record with 790 points, surpassing Caitlin Clark‘s previous mark, on her way to a unanimous Rookie of the Year win.
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Making the moment even better, her parents unexpectedly showed up to hand her the trophy during a meal with the Minnesota Lynx.
Olivia Miles lands a $15k bonus for ROTY win
As mentioned, Olivia Miles locked down the 2026 WNBA Rookie of the Year in unanimous fashion, sweeping all 74 votes. But while the hardware is huge, it’s the $15,000 bonus check that really catches people’s attention, especially when players were only earning around $50k per season not so long ago.
It was revealed that in addition to winning Rookie of the Year, Miles was given $15,000 and a trophy.
Caitlin Clark had a historic 2024 rookie year, breaking records for points and assists while nearly sweeping the Rookie of the Year voting. But despite driving record crowds and tv ratings to the league, her official award bonus was just $5,150.
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That smaller check was baked straight into the WNBA’s previous collective bargaining agreement. Back then, performance bonus pools were capped at fixed, outdated figures.
While Clark was already pulling in millions from major endorsement deals, her league payout simply reflected a legacy financial system that existed long before the current WNBA boom.
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