The WNBA star takes a massive pay cut to return to the league with her former team following her return to the U.S. after nine months of wrongful detainment in Russia.
- Feb 23, 2023
AceShowbiz - Brittney Griner clearly rejoices over her WNBA return. After signing a 1-year deal with Phoenix Mercury, the professional female basketball player is all smiles in first pictures shared by the team.
Brittney rejoined the team to get some work in on the practice court on Tuesday, February 21. In the images posted on Mercury's Instagram page, she flashed a smile as she held a basketball ball and ran around the court. "There she is," so the caption read, including a heart emoji.
The 32-year-old athlete also marked her return to WNBA by sharing a compilation video of her highlights with the team. "So Good to be back with the Family! @phoenixmercury," she wrote in the caption.
Reports of Brittney's return to the WNBA broke over the weekend. A source confirmed to ESPN that the 32-year-old free agent signed a one-year, $165,100 contract with the Mercury on Saturday, February 18. She will return to the team that drafted her first overall in 2013 for a 10th season.
While it's good news for Brittney and fans, she made a sacrifice to make it happen. She took a major pay cut to rejoin the team. Her $165,100 contract is a 32 percent drop from what she could have been offered last season, which she accepted so that the team could resign player Diana Taurasi, the WNBA's all-time leading scorer.
Brittney, a two-time Olympic gold medalist and six-time WNBA All-Star, had been making close to the maximum possible salary for the three seasons prior to her detainment and was also eligible for a $234,936 supermax this season.
She, however, isn't the only WNBA player taking a pay cut this season. Free agent Breanna Stewart, who signed for $175,000 with the New York Liberty, Brionna Jones of the Connecticut Sun], and Candace Parker of the Las Vegas Aces all reportedly took pay cuts in order to help create super teams.
