"I'm the best player in the world and I have to go to a communist country" - Diana Taurasi on having to play in Russia because she wasn't earning enough in the WNBA originally appeared on Basketball Network .
Diana Taurasi is considered by many to be the women basketball's GOAT. But for all of her greatness, accomplishments and accolades, she suffered the same fate as every other WNBA player in the past and today - feeling underpaid.
The salary in the WNBA was so low back then that players had to augment their income by playing overseas during the offseason. Taurasi was a great player, but she was no exception to the rule. From 2005-17, she spent her offseasons playing abroad, mostly in the Russian league.
"I'm the best player in the world and I have to go to a communist country to get paid like a capitalist," Taurasi said during a teaser for the three-part series documentary on her career entitled "Taurasi."
Taurasi was the No.1 overall pick of the Phoenix Mercury in the 2004 WNBA Draft after a standout college career where she won three straight NCAA women's titles for UConn. However, despite her credentials, her rookie salary was a mere $42,000 per season.
Even after Diana won three WNBA titles, two Finals MVPs, one regular season MVP, and nine All-WNBA first team honors by 2014, the salary was at $107,000 per season, which was already the max deal in the league during that period. In contrast, she made $1.5 million per season playing for UMMC Ekatarinburg in the Russian Premier League.
Not only did she get a salary 15 times higher than what she earned from her main job in the WNBA, but Taurasi and other American stars in Russia also got royal treatment as they flew on chartered planes and traveled to beautiful places.
But while playing in Russia was worth the time, players had to battle with loneliness and homesickness. Taurasi always missed her parents and realized she spent more time away from them than with them.
"One time I came back, and I was like, 'Man, my parents have just gotten older, and I've missed a big part of it.' We weren't making that much money, so generational wealth was coming from going to Russia every year," she added. "Now we have to come back home and get paid nothing, to play in a harder league, in worse conditions, against the best competition in the world. The f—g janitor in the arena made more than me."
If that were truly the case, perhaps she should have joined the janitorial staff, instead of choosing to complain about getting paid to play the game she loved.
Taurasi retired after the 2024 WNBA season and according to Sportac, she made $1.385 million from 2017-2024, including $234,936 per season in 2023 and 2024, which while it was an upgrade from what she made during her first decade in the league, was still low compared to what she would've made if she played overseas.
One year after Taurasi retired, WNBA players still feel that they aren't paid enough, which is why they are asking for a raise in their current CBA negotiations. It's also the reason why the 2025 WNBA All-Star players wore "Pay us what you owe us" shirts during the All-Star Game warm-ups.
Currently, the smallest rookie scale contract in the league is $285,136 for four years, or an average of $71,284 per year. Meanwhile, the Super Max is valued at $249,244 per year, and the regular max is $214,466 for the 2025-26 campaign.
For sample purposes, Indiana Fever star Caitlin Clark 's four-year deal, signed last year, was valued at $338,056 and she will make only $78,066 this year. But at least, CC or Angel Reese have not been forced to go overseas like Taurasi did.
This story was originally reported by Basketball Network on Aug 7, 2025, where it first appeared.
