Player Compensation💰: Do 7-Day or Developmental Contracts Pay More Under the New CBA?

Now that the contract guarantee deadline has passed, we're already seeing a spike in teams signing players to new 7-day and developmental contracts. I found myself interested in which of these pay better (and by how much) for the players under the new CBA, so looked into it and thought I'd share for anyone else curious! The pay structures are different for both contracts, so it's a bit more complicated than I thought! 

7-Day Contracts

Thanks to the new CBA, 7-day contracts now pay 100% of the minimum WNBA prorated salary (up from 75%). This means players make approx $2,200 - $2,440/day, or $15,400 - $17,080 over the full seven days. These contracts also now count as a full year of service, which matters a lot for future min & max salary, free agency status, extensions, etc and is a real, hard fought advantage they have over DP contracts currently, as well as 7-day contracts under the previous CBA. 

DP Contracts

Under developmental contracts, players get $750/week in base pay (so $15,000 - $16,500 over the season). If they play in a game, they get an active game bonus of $6,136/game (capped at 12). Most teams play 3 games a week, so if you're on a DP contract and play in all three games, you'd make $19,158 that week (but only $750 if you sit all those games out). Also, your play doesn't count towards years of service. 

Shared Perks

Teams are required to provide one bedroom apartments for players in both scenarios. 

So which pays better?

If you're actively playing in all the games your team has during a 7 day stretch, you'll stand to make slightly more on a DP contract - but if you're not, you'll make a lot less. 7 day contracts pay you regardless of game play, and you'll make about the same amount in one week as you'd make in base pay on a developmental contract over a whole season. 7 days also have the additional advantage of counting as a year of service, which matters in the long run!