The 2025 WNBA regular season marks the fifth in which the Commissioner's Cup will be a key component of the annual schedule.
The WNBA implemented the Commissioner's Cup during the 2021 campaign, and the competition provided a blueprint for the introduction of the NBA Cup, which began in 2023. Both in-season tournaments recognize one team with a trophy for excelling in the regular season.
Teams aren't just competing for bragging rights, either. WNBA players are playing for a nice paycheck if their team advances to the Commissioner's Cup championship game. Of course, whichever squad comes out on top gets a bigger portion of the prize pool.
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The prize money from a Commissioner's Cup title works out to be more per player than for winning the league championship. So, what is the prize money for the WNBA Commissioner's Cup, and how does it compare to the WNBA Finals?
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WNBA Commissioner's Cup prize money
The winning team for the WNBA Commissioner's Cup splits a prize pool of $500,000.
Team rosters have a minimum size of 11 players and a maximum size of 12 players, as outlined by the WNBA's Collective Bargaining Agreement. For rosters with 12 players, the prize money averages to about $41,700 per player. The MVP of the championship game takes home an additional $5,000.
In addition, each team is competing for an extra pool of money for charitable and civic organizations. The complete list of charities and money donated can be tracked here.
Players on the losing side earn $10,000 each for making the championship game.
Beginning in 2024, Bitcoin also committed to giving $5,000 in cryptocurrency to each player in the championship game, a figure that lands between $110,000 and $120,000.
WNBA Finals prize money
Teams in the WNBA Finals also get bonus money for players, but not nearly as much prize money is available as in the Commissioner's Cup.
One reason? More teams split the total prize pool during the WNBA playoffs, meaning each player takes home a smaller slice of the pie.
The current CBA has a total prize pool of $500,000 for the WNBA playoffs. This money can go towards a bonus offered to all postseason players who are on team rosters on the last day of the regular season.
Here is the breakdown of prize money:
- Teams eliminated in the first round: $1,616 per player
- Teams eliminated in the second round: $3,123
- Championship runner-up: $7,746
- WNBA champion: $20,825
What is the WNBA Commissioner's Cup?
The WNBA Commissioner's Cup is an in-season tournament that features all 12 of the league's teams.
In 2025, the Commissioner's Cup consists of each team playing one game against each of its in-conference opponents. For the Eastern Conference, that is a total of five games, while Western Conference teams will play six games each due to the introduction of the expansion Valkyries.
These games are regular-season matchups and count toward each team's overall record.
MORE: Dates, channels & more to know for the 2025 Commissioner's Cup
All regular-season games played between June 1 and 17 are Commissioner's Cup games. The Commissioner's Cup championship game is the only game that does not count toward either team's overall record.