Brittney Griner made a splash at Baylor as one of the best college basketball players of all-time and after being the number one overall pick in the WNBA, the star is now broadening her horizons, signing a contract with a Chinese team to play in the offseason.
According to Deadspin.com, Griner signed with Zhejiang to play during the WNBA offseason and the report notes that she is just one of many that do so. One of the primary reasons for playing in China is exposure as well as the fact that the players get paid far better salaries than in the WNBA. The report cites Maya Moore, who made under $50,000 in her first season in the WNBA with the Lynx and went to China and possibly got paid more than double that salary.
While the contract numbers were not made public, chances are it was a high figure if she is going to China to play. Moore played last season and won a WCBA title against Zhejiang, who is using Griner to replace Elizabeth Cambage, who played last season. At first Cambage said she would not return to Tulsa this season, but that could change with Griner coming. According to SI.com, Cambage, who was the number two pick in the draft in 2011, scored 11.5 points and 4.7 rebounds per game as a rookie and she had planned to play in China rather than return to the WNBA.
