With the ink still wet from a new Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA) signed in March, Las Vegas Aces Jackie Young, an Indy native, is making more history.
Young signed a one-year contract worth approximately $1.19 million with the Aces, making her the first player in WNBA history to secure a seven-figure deal.
The deal, reached during the 2026 free agency period, keeps Young with the defending champion Aces and positions her at the forefront of a new economic era for the league.
Young’s journey to this milestone began in Princeton, Ind., where she became a legend on the hardwood. At Princeton Community High School, Young led the Tigers to a state championship in 2015 and compiled a mind-blowing 97-9 record over four years. By the time she graduated, she held the Indiana all-time high school scoring record with 3,268 points, breaking a 26-year-old mark previously held by Indiana basketball icon Damon Bailey.
Following her high school tenure, Young was a star player at the University of Notre Dame, winning a national championship in 2018 and helping lead the Fighting Irish to two NCAA finals appearances. The Aces selected her as the No. 1 overall pick in the 2019 WNBA draft.
Since entering the league, Young has developed into one of the association’s premier two-way players. She is a four-time WNBA All-Star and a two-time All-WNBA selection. During the 2025 season, Young started all 44 games for Las Vegas, averaging 16.5 points, 5.1 assists and 4.5 rebounds per contest.
Young’s performance improved in the postseason, where she averaged 20.4 points and 5.5 assists, helping lead Las Vegas to another WNBA championship.
The Princeton native also enjoyed success on the international level, winning two Olympic gold medals. She captured gold in 3×3 basketball at the Tokyo Games and later added another gold medal with the traditional 5-on-5 U.S. women’s team at the Paris Olympics. She was also named the league’s Most Improved Player in 2022.
Her historic contract is a direct result of the WNBA’s new CBA, which was ratified in March 2026. The new CBA establishes the first comprehensive revenue-sharing model in women’s professional sports history and dramatically increases player salaries. Under the new agreement, the team’s salary cap was set at $7 million in 2026, and the maximum player salary for that year was $1.4 million, projected to rise to $2.4 million by 2032.
“This marks the beginning of a bold new era for the WNBA— one made possible by the passion and dedication of the players, owners, fans, investors, partners and the entire WNBA family,” WNBA Commissioner Cathy Engelbert said regarding the new CBA. “We remain focused on building on the unprecedented momentum around the league and preparing for our milestone 30th season, tipping off in May.”
Young’s decision to stay in Las Vegas solidifies the Aces’ championship core, which includes four-time MVP A’ja Wilson and six-time All-Star Chelsea Gray. The trio has led the team to three championships in the past four seasons.
For Young, once a kid from a small Indiana town who set state scoring records, the journey from the Hoosier state’s high school gyms to the bright lights of Las Vegas, the Olympics and into the WNBA record books is now complete with a historic contract.
Contact Multimedia Reporter Noral Parham at 317-762-7846 or email at noralp@indyrecorder.com. Follow him on X @3Noral. For more WNBA news from Noral, visit indianapolisrecorder.com.
Noral Parham is the multi-media reporter for the Indianapolis Recorder, one of the oldest Black publications in the country. Prior to joining the Recorder, Parham served as the community advocate of the MLK Center in Indianapolis and senior copywriter for an e-commerce and marketing firm in Denver.
