With Brittney Griner detained in Russia, are WNBA players more hesitant to go overseas?

WNBA players have long played overseas to supplement their income.

Phoenix Mercury guard Diana Taurasi played in Russia with UMMC Ekaterinburg for 10 years, making approximately $1.5 million dollars per season.

Mercury center Brittney Griner received a pay raise when she made as much as $1.5 million in a single year in Russia.

With many Russian teams being backed by large corporations controlled by oligarchs, teams like Ekaterinburg became the premier destinations for top-tier players like Griner and Taurasi.

In comparison, the maximum base salary this season in the WNBA was $228,094. The average base salary is around $130,000, with the rookie minimum at $60,471 and the veteran minimum at $72,141. Under the current collective bargaining agreement (CBA), players can make up to $500,000 for four months of play under the new CBA with combined salary, bonuses, tournaments, and league and team marketing deals.

Playing overseas is vital to some WNBA players. But with Griner’s detention in Russia, are WNBA players more hesitant to play overseas following the 2022 season?

Her seventh season in Russia came to an unfortunate end when Griner sought to leave return to the country and rejoin her team, UMMC Ekaterinburg, against the backdrop of the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Griner was detained on Feb. 17 at a Moscow airport when officials alleged that she had hashish oil in her luggage.

“The reality is, the whole situation, it raises so many layered conversations of like why was she even there in the first place?” Mercury wing Diamond DeShields said. “The pay inequity, gender inequity, and I understand that players have to do what they have to do for their career and for their families.”

Brittney Griner's case in Russia raises awareness in WNBA

Griner was sentenced to nine years in a Russian prison on Aug. 4 on drug smuggling changes. The U.S. has classified Griner as wrongfully detained, and President Joe Biden and his administration have made ‘prisoner swap’ offers to Russia to bring Griner back to the U.S.

“I don't know if it's a hesitancy for players going overseas, but I think it's just an awareness of where they're going,” Seattle Storm forward Breanna Stewart said. “And you know just how that country is, obviously I don't think any players are going go to Russia, especially with everything going on with BG being wrongfully detained. I think the priority with Russia is that everybody wants her home safe.”

Latest update: Brittney Griner’s lawyers appeal WNBA, Mercury star's nine-year Russian prison sentence

Stewart played with Griner on the same team in Russia from 2018-22 and also made $1.5 million for last season alone.

Due to the ongoing invasion of Ukraine and the ban of Russian teams in FIBA's EuroLeague, many prominent players like Stewart won't return to Russia following the 2022 season. Along with Stewart, WNBA All-Stars Jonquel Jones, Emma Meesseman and Courtney Vandersloot have signed to play in Turkey and Hungary.

Griner’s situation hit close to home for Mercury players, many of whom have spent time playing overseas. DeShields, who played with Famila Wuber Schio in Italy last season, hopes that other players will be more cautious when selecting where to go overseas.

“Obviously, I respect any player’s decision to go and play overseas, but I can see how it could affect players wanting to go over there,” DeShields said.

For subscribers: Griner appeals nine-year Russian prison sentence: What it means

Over the years, the league has made efforts to reduce players opting to play overseas.

The number of players who played in foreign countries last season dropped to 70, which is less than in 2017-18 when 89 went overseas. Under the current CBA, there’s a $1 million fund the league set aside for offseason marketing deals. Those who stayed back also worked in the NBA such as Mercury guard Skylar Diggins-Smith, who worked as an analyst for the Phoenix Suns last season.

But perhaps the most significant action will come next season.

Veteran players who report late to their WNBA team’s training camp because of overseas commitments will be fined one percent of their salary for each day missed. Veteran players could even be suspended for the entire season if they show up late for the regular season. In 2024, the rule will be expanded to suspending players for the entire season if they show up late for training camp.

Training camp usually begins in April, which interferes with European leagues that can go into May depending on the playoffs.

DeShields hasn’t heard much from others in avoiding going overseas altogether, but said that many are still choosing to play in Europe in the EuroLeague because it still maintains a good reputation. The EuroLeague is the league in which Ekaterinburg operates.

For DeShields personally, she does not intend to go overseas at the moment, but is still open to offers. DeShields and several others in the league will be spending the first portion of the offseason preparing to potentially play in the FIBA Women’s Basketball World Cup in Australia, which runs from Sept. 21 to Oct. 1.

New York Liberty forward Natasha Howard played the 2021-22 offseason with Dynamo Kursk, another team based in Russia. Howard said she hasn’t nailed down her offseason plans to go overseas following the 2022 WNBA season.

“I haven’t heard anything from nobody about being hesitant to go overseas,” Howard said.

Howard’s teammate, Crystal Dangerfield, agreed that she hasn’t heard anything about other players being hesitant to go overseas.

But Dangerfield, who played with Elitzur Ramla in Israel in 2021-22, said she’s a bit uncertain about going again next season.

“Personally speaking, I’m a little hesitant,” Dangerfield said. “... Because it’s a different situation, (Griner’s) situation is unique, but it could be anyone.”

This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: With Brittney Griner detained, WNBA players weigh playing overseas