Lots of this is negotiated by the player's union. There's a reason a sideshow moron like Aaron Rodgers or washed geezjob like Russel Wilson is getting the bag, and there's a reason teams that hit on rookie-contract QBs can afford to sign Tyreek and Deebo and CMac and pass rushers galore etc. and have a loaded team for Purdy or Tua to play with. Look at the Texans; they got a playoff win off CJ Stroud and they have three "free" years to stack the roster because they're not paying him something that starts with four or five and has eight digits per annum.
In the NFL it's the second contract where you get the bag. The rookie deal ain't sh!t. At a glance the WNBA seems to have the same thing going. After some cheapskate owners tried to twist their draft picks arms the latest round of bargaining basically codified what rookies can get paid, this way Spanos can't cheap out on it anymore.
Basketball is more like soccer now. It's an international sport. The elite domestic players are geezed. LeWashed, Steph, and KD are all ready for pickleball and daytime TV. The best players are internationals - Antetekunmpo, Jokic, Wembanyama and the interest is strong overseas which is where the women often go.
Remember, the NBA (except for Michael Jordan selling shoes and Charles Barkley mad at NY and SF) lost zero sleep "going woke" but the instant Darryl Morey said one word China didn't like, the Houston Rockets sh!t-canned him.
Can the WNBA find new ways to keep players home in the offseason instead of going abroad, where players' salaries have taken a recent hit?
theathletic.com