What Kentucky’s Georgia Amoore stands to earn with the Washington Mystics
On Monday night, former Kentucky floor general Georgia Amoore was drafted sooner than several national media members expected.
Projected by many to land in the first round with either the Connecticut Sun, who held picks seven and eight, or the Chicago Sky, who held picks 10 and 11, Amoore’s selection by the Washington Mystics with the sixth overall pick in the WNBA draft not only put her in an enviable position as far as the likelihood of making an opening-day roster, but also upped her potential earnings.
In being drafted by the Mystics, a rebuilding franchise with plenty of available salary cap space, Amoore and fellow first-round picks Sonia Citron (third) and Kiki Iriafen (fourth) are expected to join a team hungry for young talent to complement its existing core.
Following Amoore’s selection, ESPN analyst and Hall of Famer Rebecca Lobo noted the point guard’s increase in production during her 2024-25 campaign at the University of Kentucky and the 5-foot-6 Amoore’s ability to get shots off against larger Southeastern Conference defenders, and said each of the Mystics’ first-round picks may separate themselves in Washington.
“You see the Washington Mystics’ draft room,” Lobo said. “And you look at the three picks that they took already here in the first round. All three of those players could potentially start for the Mystics this season.”
WNBA draftees sign three-year, non-guaranteed contracts with their respective franchises, and each rookie contract has a team option for a fourth year. As dictated by the current collective bargaining agreement — which will last through the conclusion of this season after the WNBA players’ union predictably opted out at the end of October — the 2025 rookie scale for draftees contains five tiers.
The highest-value tier, granted to picks 1-4, holds a total value of $348,198. In the event Citron or Iriafen remain rostered by the Mystics for all three years of their rookie deals, and Washington chooses to exercise their fourth-year options, each player would make $78,831 in their first season, $80,408 in their second, $88,449 in their third and $100,510 in their fourth.
These figures are purely base salary, and do not reflect additional earning opportunities such as endorsement deals or merit bonuses.
The second-highest tier, which covers picks 5-8, including Amoore, holds a total value of $334,115. Regardless of tier, each drafted player’s base salary increases by 2% after their rookie season. For those drafted in the first and second rounds, base salaries receive a 10% bump ahead of their third season, and an approximate 13.64% increase for their fourth-year option. Should the Mystics retain Amoore for four years, she would make $75,643 as a rookie, $77,156 in year two, $84,871 in year three and $96,445 in year four.
Picks 9-12 hold a maximum, four-year salary value of $320,040, while second-rounders (picks 13-24) hold a maximum salary value of $305,957 and third-rounders (picks 25-38) a maximum salary value of $285,136.
If Lucy Olsen, the Mystics’ second-round selection out of Iowa, were to make the opening-day roster and remain with the Mystics all season, she would earn a base salary of $69,267. In the event Zaay Green, Washington’s third-round pick out of Alabama, were to spend her rookie season with the Mystics, she would earn a base salary of $66,079.
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Per Her Hoop Stats, the 2025 drafted rookies stand to make make 3% more than their 2024 draft class counterparts, whose maximum salary value was 3% higher than their 2023 draft class counterparts, and so on, dating back to 2020, as negotiated by the current CBA.
For example, 2022 top-pick Rhyne Howard out of Kentucky is now entering her fourth season with the Atlanta Dream. The total value of her rookie contract is $318,649, with $91,981 of that coming this year. Though Howard’s rookie base salary ($72,141) was $6,690 less than that of Paige Bueckers, the 2025 first-overall pick, it was $4,141 more than that of Sabrina Ionescu, the top pick in the 2020 WNBA draft.
Last season, the Mystics drafted Aaliyah Edwards sixth overall. Edwards, who ultimately averaged 13.4 points, 7.3 rebounds and 1.7 assists during her rookie season with Washington, made a base salary of $73,439 in her first year — $2,204 (or about 3%) less than Amoore’s projected rookie base salary this season.
This story was originally published April 16, 2025 at 6:17 PM.
