Shaquille O’ Neal is joining the WNBA players in their fight to earn higher salaries.

During an interview with Bailey Jackson, the NBA legend learned that A’Ja Wilson, a seven-time All-Star who also has a signature shoe deal with Nike, makes $200k a year with the Las Vegas Aces.

“She should be making $10 million a year,” O’Neal replied. “I never knew this…Really.” 

O’Neal then floated a solution to the WNBA’s players' revenue problem: He believes that lowering the rims would allow women to dunk more easily, which would increase viewership.

“You wanna make more money? Let Caitlin go baseline and fingertip dunk. Let Angel [Reese] do her layup like that, let her turn that wrist one time forever and throw it down, man,” O’Neal argued. “Trust me on this.” 

O’ Neal’s commentary stems from the WNBA players using the platform during the All-Star Weekend to raise the issue of pay equity. During the warmup, several players wore shirts that read "Pay Us What You Owe Us," a powerful statement signaling their solidarity as they are negotiating a new collective bargaining agreement with the league.

Under the current CBA, WNBA players reportedly receive only about 9.3% of the league's revenue. This is significantly lower than the NBA, where the players receive between 49% and 51% of basketball-related income. WNBA players are demanding a larger percentage of revenue share, and want their salaries to grow as the league grows financially instead of being a fixed percentage.

In 2024, the league signed a historic media rights deal worth $2.2 billion over the next 11 years, averaging $200 million per year due to the unprecedented growth of the league.