Seattle Storm guard Lexie Brown spoke to Michael Porter Jr. in regards to the low pay WNBA gamers confronted early of their careers. Even because the No. 7 choose within the 2018 draft, Brown mentioned she made about $40,000 in her rookie season, making it powerful to reside on basketball alone.
Like many different gamers, Brown performed abroad through the offseason to earn extra. Because the WNBA grows, gamers proceed to push for higher pay and dealing circumstances.
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Lexie Brown speaks out about lack of respect in pay negotiation talks
For a very long time, the cash WNBA gamers made didn’t come near matching what they have been price. Brown is aware of this higher than most. She has been within the WNBA since 2018, when she got here in because the seventh choose and nonetheless couldn’t make ends meet on her wage.
“I made like 40k my rookie 12 months. You may’t reside off 40k, so I took my a-s abroad instantly. I performed for 3 straight years,” Brown mentioned on the Curious Mike podcast.
Brown additionally talked in regards to the frustration gamers confronted when negotiating with league house owners. She described what that angle felt like from the place she was standing. “For them, we simply felt like they only stored smacking us within the face. Like, ‘Y’all are simply asking for an excessive amount of. Like we simply want y’all to indicate up and play and simply be pleased with the little cash that we’re providing you with,'” she mentioned.
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On high of that, gamers felt like they have been being stored at the hours of darkness about what was truly occurring in these conferences. Brown mentioned the way in which data bought handed down was a part of the issue, and the dearth of respect was apparent even within the small particulars: “It was loopy getting the data to us from their conferences with the possession after which telling the participant reps, and there was a really disproportionate stage of respect.”
Brown was not alone in looking for alternatives abroad through the offseason. Stars corresponding to Diana Taurasi, Breanna Stewart and Brittney Griner additionally performed overseas at totally different factors of their careers. For a lot of gamers, abroad basketball was an necessary approach to make up for the restricted earnings they obtained within the WNBA.
WNBA gamers have been able to stroll away from video games
Issues began altering when the league started getting extra consideration. The rise of Caitlin Clark introduced a complete new wave of followers, and the cash coming into the WNBA began rising quick. Gamers figured that development would present up of their paychecks. For some time, it didn’t. The league and commissioner Cathy Engelbert have been sluggish to behave, and that made gamers indignant sufficient to arrange.
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When their calls for weren’t met, they have been ready to take motion collectively. Brown mentioned they have been able to stroll away from the sport fully if that was what it took.
“We stood on enterprise. We did not need to lock out, we did not need to strike, however we have been all fully ready to. The league, they waited ’til the final attainable second, which was irritating, however they felt us. It is actually a tremendous, iconic, highly effective factor that we have been capable of do as a league,” she recalled.
Jul 24, 2025; Chicago, Illinois, USA; Seattle Storm guard Lexie Brown (8) warms up earlier than a basketball sport towards the Chicago Sky at Wintrust Area. Obligatory Credit score: Kamil Krzaczynski-Imagn Photos
The brand new CBA they received introduced actual adjustments, together with higher salaries, income sharing, and constitution flights. Brown concluded by saying that the gamers by no means stopped loving the league, even after they have been combating it.
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