Sophie Cunningham: Net Worth,Family, Contracts, and More

Sophie Cunningham is a familiar face to all the die-hards of Phoenix basketball fans. Be it the Mercury fans or the Suns fans in the NBA, both fanbases know Cunningham as a great baller for the Mercury and as an analyst for the Suns.

Cunningham is a force to be reckoned with in the WNBA. As a professional athlete, she is a role model for every upcoming and aspiring talent wishing to join the league. This article reflects deeper into the guard’s journey to the WNBA and some more unknown facts about the Phoenix Mercury star.

Sophie Cunningham Early Life

Sophie Cunningham was born to Jim and Paula Cunningham on August 16, 1996. Born to parents with athletic backgrounds, Cunningham’s father used to play football while her mother was a track and field athlete at the University of Missouri. She has an older sister, Lindsey, who was encouraged alongside her to pursue athletics at a very early age.

Sophie Cunningham Biography

Before we dive deep into knowing more about Sophie Cunningham, here is a sneak peek into her life in the form of this table below:

Sophie Cunningham Career

Sophie Cunningham is a shooting guard for the Indiana Fever, who was drafted as a 13th overall pick by the Phoenix Mercury in 2019. Very recently, Cunningham joined force with Caitlin Clark after the Mercury traded her to the Fever in the 2025 WNBA offseason. This was a revitalizing change for Cunningham, who spent six seasons as a glue player at Phoenix. Let's get to know more about her journey of becoming a professional basketball player in this article further.

Sophie Cunningham High School Career

Cunningham attended Rock Bridge High School in Columbia, where she led her team to four consecutive state championships. During her high school career, Cunningham received several accolades, including being named a McDonald’s All-American in 2015.

Sophie Cunningham College Career

Following a stellar high school career, Cunningham joined the University of Missouri, the alma mater of her mother, Paula Cunningham. Very quickly, she emerged as a standout player for the Tigers, earning several accolades, such as:

• SEC All-Freshman Team (2016)
• SEC Freshman of the Year (2016)
• 3X First-Team All-SEC (2017-19)
• Third-team All-American – AP, USBWA (2019)

Cunningham led her collegiate team to several NCAA Tournament appearances in her four seasons with the Tigers. The future Mercury guard averaged 17.0 points, 5.4 rebounds, and 3.0 assists in 129 games played for the Missouri Tigers. In 2019, Cunningham declared for the WNBA Draft and was selected as the 13th overall pick by the Phoenix Mercury.

Sophie Cunningham Professional Career

Cunningham was drafted as the 13th overall pick by the Phoenix Mercury in the 2019 WNBA Draft. Since then, she has established herself as a versatile and tough guard in the WNBA. Having played 182 games for the Mercury, Cunningham heavily contributes to the team as a reliable shooter and defender coming off the bench.

Cunningham further solidified her reputation amongst the Mercury fans with her clutch performance in the 2021 season. She led the Mercury to the WNBA Finals, where they faced an eventual upset against the Chicago Sky, losing the series in four games. Cunningham continues to be a valuable asset for her team, adding to the roster’s scoring prowess with her ability to shoot from the deep and her energy on the court.

Besides the WNBA, Cunningham has also played overseas during the WNBA offseason. She had brief stints in the Australian and Turkish basketball leagues, where she further honed her skills as a player. Combining her experience in the international leagues, Cunningham is well on the path to glory and establishing herself as one of the foremost names in the WNBA.

During the WNBA offseason in 2025, Cunningam was traded to the Indiana Fever by the Phoenix Mercury, in a four-team trade involving the Mercury, Fever, Dallas Wings, and Connecticut Sun.

Here is a breakdown of her stats in the WNBA over the years:

Sophie Cunningham Awards and Achievements

The following are the achievements of Cunningham, from her high school playing career to her college and WNBA career:

Sophie Cunningham Records

Sophie Cunningham holds several records to her name ever since she began her professional basketball career in the WNBA. Cunningham holds the league record for 17 consecutive games with at least two made three-pointers. Furthermore, Cunningham has a career 88.1% (52/59) free throw record, missing only seven attempts in her first two seasons. Cunningham is one of the most lethal shooters in the WNBA currently and could easily break scoring records eventually in the future.

Sophie Cunningham Net Worth

Cunningham has earned most of her wealth from her WNBA contracts and other engagements. As of 2024, her net worth was estimated to be around $1.5 million. Cunningham is extremely marketable as a professional athlete, which opens up several avenues for her to accept sponsorships and add to her net worth.

According to Spotrac, Cunningham signed a 1-year, $100,000 extension with the Phoenix Mercury in 2025 free agency. This would earn her a base salary of $100,000 while carrying a cap hit of $100,000. Her annual salary last season was estimated to be around $120,000 as of 2024.

Cunningham is an Adidas athlete. She also represents various other brands, such as Skims. Besides basketball, she is a recurring analyst for the Phoenix Suns’ Suns Live! Broadcast channel.

Not much is known about her earnings from brand endorsements and sponsorship deals. Aside from being a basketball player, Sophie Cunningham was also a recurring analyst for the NBA team Phoenix Suns. She used to previously cover pregame, half-time, and post-game TV coverage on the Suns’ network called Suns Live!

Sophie Cunningham Boyfriend

Not much is known about Cunningham’s dating life at the moment, and it appears she is not in a relationship with anyone in particular on her social media pages. As per Yahoo! Entertainment, Cunningham was last seen dating footballer and basketball player Jakob Nedig. She last posted a picture with him on X in May 2020.

Since then, she hasn’t revealed much about her dating Nedig. Hence, we can either assume they have broken up or are choosing to stay private about their relationship.

Sophie Cunningham Parents

Sophie Cunningham's parents are Paula and Jim Cunningham. Paula was a former collegiate level javelin thrower while Jim Cunningham played collegiate level football. Both Sophie's parents studied at University of Missouri, with her following the same footsteps as well. Multiple generations of the Cunningham family have turned out to be gifted athletes while representing the University of Missouri.

Sophie Cunningham Shoes

According to Kixstats, Sophie Cunningham played 97.2% of her games last season wearing Adidas shoes. Interestingly, she also wore Puma shoes for 2.8% of her games as well. She played most of her games wearing Adidas Dame 8 shoes and Adidas Exhibit Select Low shoes and a few other games wearing Puma Court Rider Twofold shoes.

Sophie Cunningham Jersey

Sophie Cunningham wears jersey number 8 for the Indiana Fever. Her primary jersey colors are red, blue, navy, light blue, and white, reflecting the Fever's team’s colors. Fans can purchase her jersey through several retailers:

• Official WNBA Store: Offers a variety of Sophie Cunningham jerseys and apparel.
• Indiana Fever Store: Provides Sophie Cunningham jerseys for men, women, and children.
• Fanatics: Features a selection of Sophie Cunningham merchandise, including jerseys and other gear.
• eBay: Lists various Sophie Cunningham jerseys and memorabilia, including signed items.