Do WNBA players make more money abroad?

[sinobball]

I live in America and I know women's sports is struggling here, more so than in other places. Basketball still stands out as the more "stable" sports for women to make a living, if only because America is the best in basketball. So I'm looking at the WNBA pay scale:

http://womensbasketballonline.com/wn...rs/salary.html

so they get paid $30-100k (for a period of 3 months, which is already better than the other jobs they can find probably) but pales in comparison to NBA players. I mean the NBA guys that sit on the bench 99% of the time get paid at least 5 times more than the best WNBA player. So most WNBA players go oversea to play during the offseason, something that WNBA doesn't object (imagine this for NBA).

But then I'm looking at the Chinese women's league which hardly anyone watches, and Swin Cash got paid something like $180k for the past Chinese season. Of course she's the best player on a rich club, and most American imports (=WNBA players) earn between 1/4 to 1/2 of what she makes. The Chinese players make 1/10 to 1/8 of the American imports. Something like that.

So I'm wondering how much do Europeans pay these American stars? Like Diana Taurasi, Sylvia Fowles etc. I've heard it's higher than WNBA, I don't know if it's true. What about Australia?

[twilost]

Taurasi was our player, most probably next year she will play for us. we paid her around 750k$, if Im not wrong. -she is an exception-

most of our important players play for about 300k-500kTL - 200k-350k$- , If I'm not wrong.

[krikit]

During the heyday of Spartak Moscow they were paying Taurasi $500k a season and Sue Bird $340k (+ the normal free luxury apartments and personal drivers, chiefs etc). Now with the owner dead and that team pretty much folding and economic downturn there seem to have been a cutback on salaries but some teams like UMMC Ekaterinburg are still throwing out big salaries, rumored they are paying Candace Parker 1.2 million a season, perhaps a bit over exaggerated but it safe to say that the WNBA stars at the highest caliber are making a lot more in Europe than in the WNBA. Not sure how much those that aren't lucky enough to play on a billionaires plaything team are making though.

[sinobball]

Wow, didn't know that. So Taurasi makes about 8 times more in Europe than in the States, crazy. No wonder some of the best European players don't make it over to the WNBA.

But do y'all think Euroleague is better than WNBA though?

[JGX]

Spartak in their heyday was certainly better than any WNBA team, but there's more depth of talent in the WNBA.

Here's an article on Taurasi and Bird in Russia a few years ago:
http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/etick...ollinginrubles

My goal was to make one Russian smile a day — one Russian. That lasted a couple days and I gave up.

[sinobball]

Also, I have problems believing this sentence about WNBA.

* Currently involved in an eight-year television deal with ABC and ESPN. In 2009, the league featured 36 nationally televised games on ESPN2 and ABC; 70 televised games on NBA-TV. Games are broadcast to 194 countries, WNBA President Donna orender said.

I have asked basketball fans in China, and even the ardent women's basketball fans (those that would go online to download games by Taurasi, Hammon etc.) said no Chinese TV station broadcasts the WNBA. The case is the same in Taiwan I am almost sure. I wonder what is the case in the other countries, can anyone comment?

[rikhardur]

In Portugal WNBA games are televised. I suppose in more basketball oriented European countries they are too.

[BallStudent]

It is an unfortunate consequence of economics that female players don't make as much money as men. I love watching women's basketball. It is often a cleaner, crisper game, that emphasizes teamwork and skill over athletic domination.

[Shardae4391]

Hey I'm new 2 this forum but I was readin and I saw that u said Taurasi was a player of yours. and I was wonderin how exactli does someone get involved in playin overseas. I'm very interested but I have know idea how 2 get started. I live kn The United States. if u can may u please help me out. i can give you my email addreas and we communicate back and forth lik that. but I realli wana know how.