Women's basketball legend's salary was lower than that of stadium cleaners
Aug 07, 2025
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According to USA Today and People magazine, Taurasi had time to reflect on her career after retirement from Amazon Prime's three-part documentary series 'Taurasi' press conference.
In particular, she confessed the irony that she had to make more money in Russia despite being a recognized player.
In this regard, Taurasi said, `I'm the best player in the world, and I had to go to a communist country to be treated in a capitalist way" he insisted.
It's a throwback to my time playing in the Russian league during the WNBA offseason.
She said "The stadium cleaner earned more than I did," he said, pointing out the unreasonable reality of the time.
She also lamented that she had to leave for Russia every year to make money and, in return, missed precious moments with her family.
"When I came back to the U.S. one day, my parents were much older, and it occurred to me that I had missed those times" she added, "When I made money in Russia and came back to the U.S., I had to compete with the best players in the world in tougher leagues and worse conditions, but I made very little money."
Taurasi announced his retirement from the Phoenix Mercury in February this year after 20 seasons.
At the time, NBA star LeBron James, 40, said "She was beyond basketball. Little girls wanted to play like her, and her style and confidence was amazing"She's one of the greatest players in basketball history, and that trail will live on forever after retirement," he said in an interview.
Meanwhile, the WNBA's low salary has long been controversial.
At the All-Star Game held in Indianapolis on the 19th of last month, players warmed up by wearing T-shirts with the phrase 「Pay Us What You Owe Us」. This was a protest related to negotiations on a new collective agreement (CBA) between the players' union and the league.
Currently, the WNBA's average basic salary is about $102,000 (about 140 million won), which is only about 128th of the NBA's average annual salary of about $13 million (about 18 billion won).
This article was translated by Naver AI translator.
