A WNBA season is short and moves fast, and so do our grades. A trade, an extension, or a two-week stretch can reshape a player’s verdict in a single refresh. This page tracks those swings — who is rising and who is fading.
The Contract Value Index (CVI), our flagship contract-value grade, leads the board, because nowhere does value shift faster than when money meets a changing role on a hard-capped roster. Performance movers follow, catching the trends the standings have started to reflect.
It is a momentum read, not a ranking: less about where a player sits and more about which way she is trending.
Movers compare each player's two most recent grade snapshots over the last 30 days. We show how far the letter grade moved, never the underlying number. New deals and stat updates feed the next refresh.
Widest Pay-vs-Value Gaps
Above-median WNBA salaries carrying the weakest Contract Value Index (CVI) grades — the biggest gaps between what teams pay and what our grading says they are getting.
| # | Player | Avg / Yr | CVI |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Bridget CarletonF · Portland Fire | $1.2M | F F |
| 2 | Temi FagbenleC · Toronto Tempo | $1.0M | F F |
| 3 | Brittney GrinerC · Connecticut Sun | $1.2M | D- D- |
| 4 | Kennedy BurkeG · Connecticut Sun |
Best Money Spent
Above-median WNBA salaries earning the strongest Contract Value Index grades — premium money that is actually returning premium value.
| # | Player | Avg / Yr | CVI |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Nneka OgwumikeF · Los Angeles Sparks | $950K | B+ B+ |
| 2 | Breanna StewartF · New York Liberty | $1.2M | B B |
| 3 |
How grade movers are tracked
Every time our pipeline regrades a WNBA player, it logs a snapshot. A mover is a player whose latest snapshot lands in a different letter tier than the one before it. We surface the largest tier swings — up and down — across the Contract Value Index and Performance grades. Grades shift as new games, contracts, and context arrive. Read the full methodology.