“We finna be millionaires, bruh!” exclaimed Courtney Williams, star point guard for the WNBA’s Minnesota Lynx. Williams and her now former teammate, Natisha Hiedeman, were a popular duo on and off the court. Known as the StudBudz, the pair were favorites among both fans and their fellow WNBA players, putting out unfiltered videos on the live streaming service, Twitch.

However, the future of the Studbudz is now in jeopardy as the duo has gone their separate ways. Hiedeman recently left Minnesota, signing as a free agent with the Seattle Storm. Williams, on the other hand, has cashed in on the lucrative new league collective bargaining agreement (CBA) and inked a two-year, $2.4 million max contract with the Lynx.

In March, the WNBA and the players’ union reached a historic deal, exponentially increasing players’ salaries. For example, the per-team salary cap exploded from $1.5 million under the last CBA to $7 million. Average salaries went up over 500 percent, from $107,000 to $585,000, and maximum salaries for star players will increase from $249,224 to $1.4 million.

As for the new “millionaire” moniker, however, not so fast, bruh.

For a league whose players toiled in the wilderness and relative obscurity for 28 years, the new CBA is a major milestone, reflecting the league’s success since the Caitlin Clark effect in 2024.

As for the new “millionaire” moniker, however, not so fast, bruh. Getting and staying there may be more difficult than you think.

Many WNBA players have prided themselves on getting involved in various social and public policy issues, including opposition to ICE, standing with Palestine, and LGBTQ+ rights. With the new CBA, players can now add another cause to the list- taxing the rich. And, they can have courtside seats to the movement.

Success, specifically, monetary success, comes with potential pitfalls, namely, tax implications associated with large incomes. With all the talk about millionaires and billionaires these days in Washington, D.C., and state capitals around the country, big-salaried WNBA players could have a target on their backs.

Recently, both at the federal and state levels, politicians and social justice warriors have been beating the drum for a wealth tax on high-income individuals. Depending on where and who is doing the proposing, these initiatives target millionaires and come in various forms — higher marginal rates, surtaxes, and the like. (RELATED: What’s Behind the Wild New Wealth Tax Proposals?)

For example, Massachusetts Senator Elizabeth Warren recently introduced a bill called the Ultra-Millionaire Tax Act. According to Warren’s website, the act “requir[es] that the top 0.05 percent of American households chip in 2 cents for every dollar of wealth over $50 million.” As politicians do, Warren’s threshold of 50 million dollars is conveniently well above her own net worth, reportedly between eight and 12 million dollars.

In the home of the Lynx, Minnesota will take 9.85 percent of every one of Courtney Williams’s dollars over about $200K, assuming she is a single filer. A new, proposed bill in the Land of 10,000 Lakes seeks to take an additional one percent on all taxable wealth exceeding 10 million dollars.

Most recently, Natisha Hiedeman’s new home, Washington State, passed legislation to take 9.9 percent of taxable income above $1 million. The kicker here is that until the adoption of the millionaire’s tax, Washington State had the attractive policy of no tax on any personal income.

Remember also, professional athletes, when they play road games, are subject to what is known as the “jock tax.” This amounts to a levy imposed on non-resident income derived while working in a particular jurisdiction. Therefore, when teams travel, they must pay rates imposed in high-tax states like California, New York, and Oregon, and the aforementioned Minnesota and Washington, for time spent in those states for games, practices, and meetings. (RELATED: If You Tax It, They Will Come?)

For the cherry on top of this fiscal cake, cities like New York, Washington D.C, and Portland will take an additional bite, providing players with the privilege of paying those respective municipal income taxes.

Now, players certainly will be able to find accountants and financial advisors who can squeeze their adjusted gross incomes down below these various millionaire thresholds. But, factoring in endorsement money in the six and seven-figure range, and, in some cases, league subsidized housing, the players could be right back in Uncle Sam’s and state revenue departments’ crosshairs.

So, to the women of the WNBA, congratulations on your new contract and success. You deserve it. Welcome to the world of big-time, big-money sports.

Welcome, also, to the one percent. I am sure you didn’t realize it, but you are now part of the problem in America. Thank you in advance for paying your “fair share.”

Jim Bellano is a humor and satire writer and the author of Fond Memories From the Forgettable Decade: A Sports Fan’s Attempt To Rehabilitate the 1970s. Mr. Bellano has published dozens of opinion pieces in Connecticut newspapers.