Former Gamecock star A'ja Wilson signs historic WNBA contract with Las Vegas Aces
Gamecock legend A’ja Wilson has added another impressive line to her basketball resume.
Wilson re-signed with the Las Vegas Aces, the franchise announced Wednesday. The deal is a fully guaranteed supermax contract worth $5 million over three years, ESPN reported. The contract was negotiated to ensure Wilson will earn “20% of the salary cap as it increases every year,” the Las Vegas Review-Journal reported.
The contract is the largest in WNBA history.
“A’ja is truly one of one, who has led this franchise to where it is today,” Las Vegas Aces GM Nikki Fargas said in a statement. “Not only has she catapulted into the history books and surpassed almost every record in existence, but she does so with the utmost confidence, authenticity and grace. We look forward to continuing to see her thrive in an Aces uniform.”
The rise in Wilson’s annual compensation from the Aces is thanks to the WNBA’s historic new collective bargaining agreement. Under the new CBA, the supermax contract rose from $250,000 to $1.4 million. Salaries around the league have risen in this year’s free agency period as well. This year’s salary cap in the WNBA is $7 million, up from $1.5 million last season. The salary cap is expected to climb over $11 million by the time the CBA ends in 2032.
Wilson has done nothing but succeed since reaching the pros and has certainly earned the new contract.
Last year, Wilson became the first player in WNBA history to win four MVP awards. She led the Aces to their third WNBA championship in the last four years and was named the WNBA’s Co-Defensive Player of the Year (her third time winning the award).
Wilson averaged 23.4 points, 10.2 rebounds, 3.1 assists, 1.6 steals and 2.3 blocks for Las Vegas in 2025. She is the only player in league history to average at least 20 points, nine rebounds, two assists, two blocks and one steal per game in any given season (a feat Wilson has achieved twice).
Wilson is a seven-time WNBA All-Star, six-time All-WNBA selection and has been named to the WNBA All-Defensive Team five times. The Columbia native helped catapult the South Carolina women’s basketball program to a perennial title contender and won a national title with Dawn Staley and the Gamecocks in 2017.
This story was originally published April 15, 2026 at 3:17 PM with the headline "Former Gamecock star A'ja Wilson signs historic WNBA contract with Las Vegas Aces."
