Dallas Wings veteran Arike Ogunbowale is chasing a massive payday in the upcoming WNBA Commissioner's Cup.

The Wings have looked quite impressive since the start of the season, sitting on a 5-3 record with Paige Bueckers, Azzi Fudd, and Ogunbowale herself leading the charge.

Naturally, Ogunbowale is quite confident about Dallas' chances in the upcoming tournament and does not mind the huge chunk of money the winner of the Commissioner's Cup will receive.

“No matter how much money you get, it’s always good to make more money. So definitely, that's a motivation,” said the four-time All-Star in the video posted by The IX Sports' Melissa Triebwasser.

Per the latest CBA between the league and the players' union, Ogunbowale received a massive salary bump this season, earning around $1.2 million. She was earning less than $250,000 the season prior.

However, this is still less than the $1.4 million max contract she could have earned but chose not to. Ahead of the new season, the guard intentionally took less to give the Wings more financial flexibility to build their roster under the salary cap.

This allowed the Wings to sign free agents like Jessica Shepard and last year's co-DPOY Alanna Smith, who are already showing their class.

She spoke about this ahead of the new season, believing it was an easy call from her side.

"God has blessed me with a good amount of money outside the court that I knew that in order to win here, you have to take less," Ogunbowale said. "All the greats have done it, all the great players."

Speaking about money, Ogunbowale was also asked about her teammate Paige Bueckers' debut jersey, which recently sold for an astounding amount.

Arike Ogunbowale Reacts to Paige Bueckers' Record-Breaking Jersey Sale

The 2025 No.1 overall pick's debut jersey sold for a whopping $64,720 through MeiGrey, setting a new record for the highest price paid for a WNBA jersey and the most expensive publicly sold, photo-matched item in women's sports memorabilia.

This number is also higher than Ogunbowale's rookie year salary in 2019, and she addressed how players have the capability of earning outside of what the league is offering them.

“Rookie contracts were really, really small. If you didn't have another job, you had to get one, or you wouldn't be able to survive. Now, obviously, this can be your major source of income. Even without endorsements, you'll be okay with just your W contract,” noted Ogunbowale.

But this time, the source is coming from the league itself, as the Wings look to become the sixth champion of the Commissioner's Cup, joining the Fever, the Storm, the Lynx, the Las Vegas Aces, and the New York Liberty.

The WNBA Commissioner's Cup will begin on June 1 and conclude on June 17. The championship game will be played on June 30.

So, do you think the Dallas Wings have good chances to claim the cup this year? Let us know in the comments.

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Written by

Joy Bassy

Edited by

Joy Bassy