WNBA Players Wear ‘Pay Us What You Owe Us’ Shirts at All-…

WNBA players warmed up ahead of their All-Star Game on Saturday (July 19) in T-shirts featuring the words “Pay Us What You Owe Us.”

The black shirts, worn by the players in front of the sold-out crowd of over 16,000 at Gainbridge Fieldhouse in Indianapolis, made a statement to a league that has historically paid its female players significantly less than their male NBA counterparts.

After the All-Star Game, when Napheesa Collier of the Minnesota Lynx won the MVP trophy, the crowd chanted “pay them,” undoubtedly inspired by the shirts.

Check out the shirts, which are now on sale to the public, below.

Kelsey Plum of the Los Angeles Sparks later spoke about the crowd’s support for their shirts and increasing players’ salaries.

“That was a powerful moment,” Plum said. “We didn’t, at least as players, we didn’t know that was going to happen. So it was a genuine surprise. Those chants tonight, those signs, it just shows that as players, we are united, but the fans are united in believing what we’re seeking.”

Plum also detailed the story behind the players wearing the “Pay Us” shirts.

“We wanted to do something that was united as a collective, and I thought that it’s a very powerful moment and got the point across,” Plum said. “Sometimes, you don’t have to say anything.”

ESPN reported that Nneka Ogwumike, the president of the WNBA players’ association, shared that the shirt’s slogan is about them wanting “a better share where our salaries grow with the business, and not just a fixed percentage over time.”

“We see the growth of the league, and as it stands, the current salary system is not really paying us what we’re owed,” Ogwumike said. “And we want to be able to have that fair share moving forward, especially as we see all of the investment going in, and we want to be able to have our salaries reflected in a structure that makes sense for us.”

The WNBA has experienced explosive growth in recent years. In 2024, the league announced that it secured a new 11-year media rights deal with Disney, Amazon, and NBCUniversal that’s worth $2.2 billion.

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