Posted on 08/28/2022 3:51:23 AM PDT by Libloather
**SNIP**
When she was arrested, Griner was returning to Russia to join Jones on their team, UMMC Yekaterinburg, for the playoffs. Griner has starred for the WNBA’s Phoenix Mercury since 2013 and soon after also joined Yekaterinburg, among a handful of clubs owned by oligarchs who pay top salaries for pride and political reasons. Those clubs are not seen as an option right now because of Griner’s detention and the war in Ukraine.
“It’s taken some money off the table for some people,” said Mike Cound, an agent who represents dozens of professional women’s basketball players. “It’s lowered the overall average salaries a little bit, but other countries, especially Turkey, have stepped up, upped their money because they realize they can get players they didn’t previously have access to.”
The maximum annual base salary for WNBA players is $228,094, and just three players earned that much this year, according to Spotrac. Griner’s salary is just under the maximum. The minimum is about $60,000. Each team has a salary cap of about $1.4 million to fill 12 roster spots. The league offers bonuses for winning awards like defensive player of the year, and also helps players find internships or marketing deals during the offseason.
By contrast, some players can make more than $1 million playing overseas. Jones, who has played for the Connecticut Sun since 2016, once told ESPN that she made her entire WNBA salary — $205,000 this season — in one month playing in Russia. Players in Turkish leagues can make several hundred thousand dollars in a season.
Jones signed with Cukurova in Mersin, Turkey, for the upcoming offseason, as did WNBA players Chelsea Gray and Briann January. Breanna Stewart and Emma Meesseman, who played for Yekaterinburg, have signed with Fenerbahce in Istanbul.
(Excerpt) Read more at yahoo.com ...
Grinder could have made more playing in China or Greece as a dude. Just didn’t want to leave the country he hates.
I don’t blame them. Going overseas is a wonderful experience and worthwhile. Just don’t be stupid.
So much for principle.
It used to be a wonderful experience.
Didn’t she disrespect the Anthem (flag, constitution, country)?
Yes she did.
Maybe the NBA Player's union should hire Hunter Biden as their negotiator. He could keep them focused on the important stuff.
“ There is a bit of an undercurrent concerning Griner though, in that she had to go to Russia to supplement her low income here. As if women basketball players are underpaid as a result of discrimination…”
I’m not following this story.
So she hates the US -disrespects the flag because she can’t make a living wage because the us discriminates against her because she’s black?
What is comedy gold is that she know POTUS Trump would have sprung her long ago.....
According to the article, the maximum salary for a WNBA player is $228,094. Brittney Griner was being paid just under that amount, so she wasn't struggling financially. You can live pretty comfortably here on that kind of salary. The media has made it sound as though she was just barely scrapping by, and had no choice but to go overseas to play basketball.
“ So she hates the US -disrespects the flag -because she can’t make a living wage because the us discriminates against her because she’s black?
Does she understand there are civil rights amendments, 3 of them, which protect rights of all citizens and that the flag represents these amendments?
Someone ought to send her a copy of the constitution. She can read it while she’s in jail
She could contemplate that people served, some fought, in the military to protect her rights
Agreed. $228K is not a bad salary. It’s not NBA money - far from it. But the WNBA thinks it should be more on par with the NBA. Ha!
“ She could contemplate that people served, some fought, in the military to protect her rights”
People who have to struggle to make enough money.
Wait…$200+ Is what she’s making? What she is whining about?
“You can live pretty comfortably here on that kind of salary”
Hello.
In addition to being subsidized by the NBA, it is also being propped up by philanthropists such as Michael Dell and the widow of Steve Jobs. I'm sure that the WNBA is a feel-good "charity" for them, as they are giving some girls a chance to make a living dribbling a basketball just like the men in the NBA.
The pay for players appears to be decent despite playing to mostly empty arenas and only meager viewership on TV. The minimum salary of a WNBA player is $60,000, it certainly beats working the perfume counter at Macys.
I’d rather watch paint dry than a second of wnba or nba.
But remember, the wnba is subsidized by the nba. Why? It's terrible basketball to watch. And the low fan base is evidence of that.
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