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.
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 ¡ª with ?the 3x3 team in Tokyo ?and the 5-on-5 team in Paris ¡ª 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.
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