For many years, WNBA players have regularly gone overseas during the WNBA’s off-season to make the most of the higher salaries they can earn in international leagues.
Phoenix Mercury star Brittney Griner — who was detained last month at Moscow’s Sheremetyevo Airport after being found with hash oil — has been doing so since the 2014/15 season, returning each year to play for Russian side UMMC Ekaterinburg. Under the WNBA’s current Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA), the average cash compensation for players is almost $130,000. For the top stars, the WNBA says they can earn “in excess of $500,000,” which is three times what they could earn under the previous CBA. “Other top players will have an opportunity to earn between $200,000 and $300,000,” a WNBA statement on the new CBA read. These salary increases were implemented partly to try and stop players traveling abroad, but these figures still pale in comparison to salaries in Russia. Top WNBA stars competing in the Russian Women’s Basketball Premier League — where there are no salary caps like there are in the WNBA — can often expect to earn more than $1 million per year.
