$1 million athlete: Jackie Young, Aces reportedly agree to historic deal

All-Star guard Jackie Young and the Las Vegas Aces are close to agreeing on a one-year deal, according to a Thursday report from ESPN. The deal is expected to be worth $1.19 million, the maximum amount for players not eligible for the WNBA's max contract of $1.4 million.

That number would make Young the WNBA's first million dollar athlete, making in excess of $1 million a year.

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The contract keeps Young, 28, off the free-agent market. The four-time All-Star averaged 16.5 points, 5.1 assists, 4.5 rebounds and 1.3 steals a game for Las Vegas in 2025, helping the Aces to their third WNBA championship in four years.

Young was drafted first overall by the Aces in 2019 out of Notre Dame and signed a contract extension with Las Vegas in May of 2024. Young is a four-time All-Star and two-time All-WNBA selection and was named the WNBA's Most Improved Player in 2022. She has also won a pair of Olympic gold medals -- with the 3x3 team in Tokyo in 2020 and 5-on-5 team in Paris in 2024 -- and a national championship with Notre Dame in 2018.

With Young presumably guaranteed to return, the Aces will attempt to retain center A'ja Wilson, a four-time MVP and two-time Finals MVP who said she wants to come back to Vegas, and guard Chelsea Gray, a six-time All-Star.

--Field Level Media/Reuters