When Brittney Griner threatened leaving WNBA to make “seven figures” overseas: "Not getting paid, not getting protected"
In an interview with ESPN in 2019, Brittney Griner expressed her discontent with the staggeringly low salaries in the WNBA and spoke about playing overseas permanently.
When asked how serious she was about making that move, Griner said:
"I'm very serious when I say that. It does suck, because I do love playing here in the States. I mean, who doesn't want to play here, in your home, in front of your friends, in front of your family? It really bothers me, but I'm at a point where it's like, 'OK, I'm already underpaid,' so I feel undervalued anyway.
"Not getting calls in the game, not being protected, but you always want to say my name first in headlines. There's no protection, throughout the season, I'm not getting paid, not getting valued, getting beat up all the time. Why put my body through that when I can go overseas and make seven figures and maybe play longer versus playing year around?"
Brittney Griner was arrested, tried and imprisoned in in Russia for drug-smuggling charges from February through December, when she was released in a prisoner exchanged for Viktor Bout.
Brittney Griner's statements reflect the longstanding pay disparity between the NBA and the WNBA
Brittney Griner's comments reflect a deeper malaise in the WNBA.
According to Spotrac, the most anyone in the WNBA will earn in 2023 is $252,450, owed to Jackie Young of the Las Vegas Aces, an exceptionally low figure as compared to the NBA's highest salary this year, which stands at $48,070,014, owed to Stephen Curry of the Golden State Warriors. Curry will therefore earn 190 times what Young is set to earn this season.
The average player in the NBA is earning about $7 million this season, and as of 2022, the average WNBA player earned $102,751.
By and large, the reason for such a drastic disparity has to do with the media coverage (or lack thereof) and how much money is being put into women's sports in the first place.
As noted by Katana Dumont of Yahoo News, a 30-year study undertaken by the University of Southern California and Purdue University concluded "that 95% of total television coverage as well as ESPN highlights show 'SportsCenter' focused on men’s sports in 2019."
Another part of the problem is how the league's revenue is distributed or how poorly the WNBPA's collective bargaining is drawn up as compared to NBPA's CBA.
In her article in the Sports Business Journal, Nona Lee noted that while the league's revenue from the NBA breaks even between players and the league, WNBA players get just 20% of the WNBA's league revenue.
The severe lack of pay has often led players to venture overseas, with most WNBA players playing in Europe during their offseason.