Diana Taurasi is transferred against wages in VNBA

This 7. August, on video bonus arrives TaurasiA documentary series in three episodes about which many consider the best player of all time. Young pensioner from parquet, Diana Taurasi is a real icon of women’s basketball, as its personality, its talent and an amazing list of awards: three NCAA titles, three VNBA titles, Six Olympic gold medals ET Six Euroleagues!

In order to “Teaser” this series, Prime Video has put a short extract online, where the champion evokes incredibly low salaries in VNBA. And she is not gentle, reminding that many of her sisters are forced to go to Russia to earn a living.

“I am the best player in the world and I have to go to the communist country to be paid as capitalists!” She takes off. “The damn concierge of the room earns more than me!”

The minimum salary is 20 times lower than in the NBA

In 2019, in the ESPN documentary, it has already used the same comparison. “Forty-five thousand dollars?” »» She replied when her salary was looking at the time when he arrived in VNBA. “Is that what I’m going to win?” Is that what I will touch after playing four years in the most prestigious basketball university? Will I win that? What I mean is that configue will get more than me. The guy who dismants and raises the parquet … will win more than me! »»

Pay Taurasi Rookie with Mercury of Phoenix 2004 year, when she came out of UCONN, was $ 42,000. Over the years, this salary increased, finally culminated with two-year contract for $ 470,000 signed in February 2023. years. Reminder that the minimum salary in the NBA is 1.3 million dollars and that now is $ 66,000 in VNBA. Admittedly, the season lasts shorter, but play more than 40 matches a year.

Threat to lock

Due to its very low salaries, the best players in the world are developed in Europe, far from their loved ones, and Taurasi admits that it weighed it. “Once I came back and told myself:”Damn, my parents are older and missed a big part of it.“We didn’t earn a lot of money, so the only way to build generational wealth, it was to go and play in Russia every year” It goes on. “Now you have to go home to barely pay, in the harder league, in the worst conditions, against the best competition in the world.” »

Words that occur while players can strike at the end of the season. The current collective agreement that has expired 31. October 2025. years, after the player (VNBPA) decided to play output clauses. Before the last game All-Star, players wore T-shirts ” Pay us what you owe us! »And negotiations are still in progress Avoid conclusion.