Betnijah Laney-Hamilton Net Worth, Salary and Professional Career

The 6-foot guard Betnijah Laney-Hamilton has stood out as a performer after the WNBA Championship with the New York Liberty in 2024. She was a second-round draft pick, but Laney-Hamilton could not make an immediate impact in the league. Rather, she had to work hard and make sure that her two-way athleticism proved to be effective in the league.

The New York Liberty player has proved herself over time repeatedly, and that's why she has also won the WNBA Most Improved Player of the Year in 2020. Today, we will be profiling this star who has turned out to be a key player for the reigning champions rather than being a bench player.

Betnijah Laney-Hamilton Early Life

Betnijah Laney-Hamilton was born on October 29, 1993, in a family where basketball was already imbibed in the family's genes. After Betnijah was born in Pennsylvania, Laney-Hamilton mostly grew up in Clayton, Delaware. Her mother and former baller, Yolanda Laney, helped Betnijah develop her first love for basketball as a sport from the start.

So she continued to compete in the local clubs and AAU basketball tournaments to stand out during the high school performances. Eventually, the competency that Laney-Hamilton developed in her early days led her to the world of WNBA, where she proved her mettle and dominated the previous season.

Betnijah Laney-Hamilton Personal Information

Betnijah has been a constant performer in the league, but the meniscus injury has derailed her spree going on while playing with the New York Liberty. Before exploring more about her personal life, professional ups and downs, let's take a look at the profile of the WNBA baller.

Betnijah Laney-Hamilton Personal Life

Betnijah Laney-Hamilton does not share much information about her background on her social media profile. However, it is on record that she married Jordan Hamilton on June 25, 2022. Jordan Hamilton is also a professional baller who not only played in the NBA but also appeared in various international leagues across the world, from Taiwan to West Asia. Moreover, her mother played the sport at Cheyney State University.

Currently, Yolanda is working as a Chief Municipal Public Defender for the city of Atlantic City, as per her LinkedIn profile. Betnijah also has a younger brother, Shakaris Laney, who played college football for the Central Connecticut State Blue Devils.

Betnijah Laney-Hamilton Husband

Betnijah Laney-Hamilton is married to Jordan Hamilton, who is also a professional basketball player known for his tenure in both the NBA and international leagues. The Dallas Mavericks picked Jordan from the 2011 NBA Draft, but later he was traded and played for the Denver Nuggets from 2011 to 2014. Currently, Jordan is playing for Al-Difaa Al-Jawi in the West Asia League. The couple got married in November 2021.

The two athletes reportedly met through mutual basketball circles and quickly developed a deep connection through their shared passion for the game. It is worth noting that Jordan was also an NBA D-League All-Star in 2015.

Betnijah Laney-Hamilton Parents

Betnijah Laney-Hamilton was born to Yolanda Laney, but the name of her father is not available yet. Her mother, Yolanda, had a greater impact on developing Betnijah's interest in basketball because she played for Cheyney State. Yolanda is an All-American point guard who was a respected player from her University, and that's why it was easy for the Laney-Hamilton to grab the fundamentals of the game and hone them as a skill early. That's why she started playing basketball at an early age of 10.

Yolanda played the guard position and led her team to the final four two times and made it through the national championship in 1982. So, it might be fair to assume that instead of her Betnijah's father, it was her mother who pushed her for glory. She made sure that her daughter was ready for the hard hustle that players often face in the pro-basketball world.

Betnijah Laney-Hamilton Contract

Betnijah Laney signed a 2 year, $365,400 contract with the New York Liberty, including $365,400 guaranteed, and an average annual salary of $182,700. She agreed to this contract with the Liberty on September 9, 2023, after an initial signing with the same team. According to Spotrac, before the present contract, Laney-Hamilton had inked a 3-year $588,801 contract with Liberty on February 3, 2021, that Betnijah paid with her performance.

The first big contract that Hamilton landed in the league was with the Indiana Fever on February 5, 2019. It was a 1-year $72,500 contract after which the team extended her another offer in 2020. Here is a breakdown of the current contract under which Betnijah Lanye-Hamilton is enjoying her perks.

• Contract Duration: 2 years
• Total Value: $365,400
• Annual Average Salary: $182,700
• Free Agent Year: 2026 (Unrestricted)

Betnijah Laney-Hamilton Salary

Coming to the salary of Betnijah as per her current contract, she is expected to earn $185,400 in the upcoming 2025 WNBA season. Although the Liberty has suspended her contract due to her meniscus injury. So the Unrivaled League has to pay for her $185,400 WNBA salary. Before that, she was earning $180,000 during the first year of her present contract. The amount that she is going to receive in the 2025 season, along with the previous salaries of Laney-Hamilton within the league, can be mentioned as follows, as per Spotrac.

Betnijah Laney-Hamilton Net Worth

Betnijah Laney-Hamilton’s estimated net worth as of 2025 is approximately $4 million. Her income comes from a mix of WNBA salaries, overseas stints, endorsements, and media appearances. We have already discussed the salary part of her life above. Coming to the brand deals and endorsements, she promotes most of them on her social media profile, like Instagram.

Reportedly, Betnijah Laney-Hamilton has joined hands with several popular brands and endorses them through her social media fanbase. Some of her major sponsorships include the Nike brand for apparel and shoes. In addition to Nike, she also paired with Gatorade, where she is involved in several campaigns and posts them on her social media.

Apart from these big endorsements, Laney-Hamilton has also worked with small specialised brands that are in the health niche. For example, she has promoted Model Atelier, which is a brand that supports taller women through fitness and fashion, according to the official Beyond the W.

Betnijah Laney-Hamilton Career

Betnijah Laney-Hamilton has proved her worth as a second-rounder from the 2015 draft class and ensured that the league considers her an elite shooting guard or small forward. Hamilton's career did not start the way it should have due to a late pick in the draft. First of all, her performance on the college level was also not on par with the bigwigs in the league. That's why she was shuffled among different squads in the Women's National Basketball Association to get the best out of her. However, apart from team contribution, she continued to evolve and became the asset that a team needs as a core or key player.

Betnijah Laney-Hamilton High School Career

Laney-Hamilton kicked off her high school career at Smyrna High School in Smyrna, Delaware. Basketball was an early love for her due to the contribution from her mother and her past with the sport. Therefore, when Betnijah started out playing competitive basketball, she ruled the court with her performance.

That's why she tallied during her senior year, Laney-Hamilton averaged 23.7 points, 10 rebounds, 4.4 steals, 4.3 assists, and 1.2 blocks per game. Later on, Betnijah got an invitation to play in the prestigious McDonald's All-American game after concluding her senior season in 2011.

Betnijah Laney-Hamilton College Career

After graduating from Smyrna High School, Betnijah Laney-Hamilton chose to play collegiate basketball for Rutgers University. She was part of the Rutgers Scarlet Knights Women's college basketball team from 2011 to 2015. There, she recorded 6 points and 3.9 rebounds per game to make it to the Big East All-Freshman Team in 2012. Her collegiate career was an evolution arc where she morphed into a completely different player, averaging the best 15.8 points, 10.7 rebounds, and 2.9 assists per game in her senior year.

That's why she was inducted into the First-team All-Big Ten in 2015. The 6-foot small forward from Rutgers overall averaged 10.9 points, 7.1 rebounds, 2.2 assists, and 1.2 steals per game while playing for the Scarlet Knights team. Here are Betnijah Laney-Hamilton's stats that she recorded during her college career, as per Sports Reference archives:

Betnijah Laney-Hamilton Professional Career

After rocking her collegiate basketball career, Betnijah Laney-Hamilton was picked up as the 17th overall pick in the second round by the Chicago Sky in the 2015 WNBA Draft. Due to playing time less than thirteen minutes on the court, Laney-Hamilton dished out only 2.9 points and 2.1 rebounds per game in her rookie season. In her second season, she played only 8 games before tearing up her ACL, and it kept her away from the game for about a year.

She recovered from the injury and returned to the league in 2018 by signing a training camp contract with the Connecticut Sun. It was a decent season for her after which she joined the Indiana Fever squad in 2019, and then, after showing improvement, she inked a multi-year contract with the team. Unfortunately, after the February signing, the Atlanta Dream got Laney-Hamilton in June 2020, and it turned out to be a fortune for them. She was selected for the WNBA All-Defensive Team by averaging 17.2 points, 4.9 rebounds, and 4 assists per game.

Then she joined the reigning champions New York Liberty during their rebuilding phase in 2021 and won them the 2024 WNBA Championship. It was a magical and historical moment for both her as well as her team. Here are the stats that she put up so far in her WNBA career, as per ESPN data:

Apart from WNBA, Betnijah has also played in the Women's National Basketball League in Australia, but she could not win a championship there or while playing two years of club basketball in Israel.

Betnijah Laney-Hamilton Awards and Achievements

2020 was the season for Betnijah Laney-Hamilton that changed it all for her career. She had a breakout season, and that's why she was rewarded the WNBA All-Defensive First Team along with the WNBA Most Improved Player award. After that, Laney-Hamilton rode the winning stride by joining the New York Liberty.

She earned various accolades in the upcoming years, getting WNBA All-Star selection(2021), WNBA Commissioner's Cup Championship(2023), and ultimately WNBA title(2024). Here is a tabular breakdown of all the awards and achievements that she received in her basketball career: