What is Brittney Griner’s net worth? How much money did they pay her to play in Russia?
Just how much money has Brittney Griner, who pled guilty last Thursday in a Moscow court, made in basketball both in the US and Russia?
Back in February, American basketball star Brittney Griner was detained in Moscow’s Sheremetyevo Airport, in Russia, for entering the country with cannabis oil in her luggage. Since then, the months have ticked by with no sign of the 31-year-old basketball player until earlier this week, when she appeared before a judge and pled guilty to the charges levelled at her.
Many Americans have been asking what Griner was doing in Russia in the first place, and the simple answer is that she was trying to earn a bit more money. According to the website Celebrity Net Worth, Griner’s fortune currently stands at $5 million, of which $1.5 million has come from playing basketball in Russia.
Griner plays for UMMC Ekaterinburg in the Russian Premier League, where she helped lead them to consecutive championships, since 2014 and was returning to report to the team when she was detained.
Griner’s winnings
Griner earned $227,000 during her latest season with the Phoenix Mercury in the WNBA, the maximum salary allowed in women’s professional basketball in the US. As such, many players have decided to look overseas to augment their salary.
Griner came out back in 2013 and has made her name in dedicating herself to breaking down traditional gender roles, regularly modelling men’s clothing as part of her sponsorship deal with Nike.
In 2016, Griner was part of the USA women’s basketball team in the Rio de Janeiro Olympics, who ended up winning Gold when they beat Spain 101-72 in the final game. Five years later, Griner and the USA won Gold a second time in the covid-delayed Tokyo Olympics.