ARLINGTON, Texas — Wings coach José Fernández said Arike Ogunbowale took less money than the Dallas Wings were permitted to pay her so the front office could assemble this year’s roster, speaking after Dallas clinched a playoff berth with a 96-78 win over the Portland Fire on Tuesday night.
Ogunbowale re-signed on a two-year deal worth $1,190,000 in 2026 and $1,249,500 in 2027, a total of $2,439,500. The 2026 figure is the standard WNBA maximum under the new collective bargaining agreement. Because Dallas had cored her, she was eligible to re-sign for the supermax of $1,400,000, which is $210,000 more and 15% above what she signed for.
Fernández was asked how he built buy-in from a player who has been through multiple coaching changes in Dallas.
“Arike could have left, right? There could have been a lot of things that could have been done differently. She chose to stay,” Fernández said. “And she also made a huge sacrifice financially as well for us in the front office to put this team together.”
“And there were a lot of question marks, can Paige and Arike play together, right? Arike has also changed a lot and given up a lot about shot selection and her really grinding and playing defense,” Fernández continued. “And trust me, we’ve had a lot of great conversations, but she really loves this franchise, and she wants to be here and she wants to win. And I had a lot of respect for that.”
What The Supermax Would Have Paid Arike Ogunbowale
The 2026 salary cap is $7 million. The supermax accounts for 20% of it and the standard max 17%. A core designation functions like an NFL franchise tag, and only the team that cores a player can offer her the supermax.
Ogunbowale was one of four players on a supermax in 2025, along with Kelsey Mitchell, Jewell Loyd, and Kahleah Copper. That figure was $249,244 before the new agreement raised the scale roughly five-fold.
The core carries a one-year supermax, though a team and player can negotiate other terms. Ogunbowale’s deal runs two years, so the $210,000 applies to 2026 and comes alongside a second guaranteed season at $1,249,500.
The Wings added Alanna Smith, Jessica Shepard, and Alysha Clark in free agency and drafted Azzi Fudd first overall.
Arike Ogunbowale Re-Signed After Conversations Before Training Camp
Ogunbowale was the fifth overall pick in the 2019 draft and has spent all eight of her WNBA seasons with the franchise. She played for the Mist Basketball Club in Unrivaled over the winter before returning to Dallas.
Her 2025 season ended early. Ogunbowale appeared in 29 games, averaged a then career-low 15.5 points, and missed the final 12 with right knee tendinitis while the Wings finished 10-34 and last in the league.
“Obviously everybody doesn’t see the conversations and what’s going on, but just the conversations I had with the team. Me and P had conversations before we came to training camp,” Ogunbowale said. “It just felt good and felt right.”
“I definitely think last year it wasn’t really a fair chance, because nothing’s fair, but I think it could have been better,” Ogunbowale continued. “And I’m just happy that I was able to give it another chance and, like I said, get a chance to go for a championship.”
Arike Ogunbowale’s Role Has Changed Alongside Paige Bueckers
Ogunbowale is averaging 14.9 points, 3.2 rebounds, and 3.1 assists this season, a career low in scoring. She scored 17 points with 4 assists on 7-of-14 shooting against Portland and went 3-of-7 from 3-point range.
She reached 5,000 career points this season. Dallas is 23-16 and has set a team record for wins in a season, up from 10-34 a year ago.
The Wings host the Connecticut Sun on Sunday at College Park Center, with tip-off at 7:30 p.m. CT on WFAA and KFAA.
