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Puget Sound Business Journal (Seattle) - by Jeff Meisner Staff Writer
Seattle Storm guard Sue Bird got on a plane last week bound for Russia to play for the Moscow Dynamo. In just four months in Moscow, Bird will earn twice the salary she makes playing for five months here at home.
Twenty-five-year-old Bird is not alone. All but one of the 10 players on the Storm roster now work overseas during the offseason, including star forward Lauren Jackson, who left Seattle earlier this year to play for the Canberra Capitals in her native Australia.
The lure of higher salaries overseas has Storm Chief Operating Officer Karen Bryant worried -- worried players will be injured, and worried that most of her stars aren't here during the offseason to promote the team and the Women's National Basketball Association, which is coming up on its 10th anniversary on May 20. The U.S. season begins in late May and runs through early September.
"I have never had nearly every player overseas," Bryant said. "I've always had access to two or three players from January to the start of training camp, so I'm concerned if this becomes a trend."
Having the majority of its players abroad is not unusual for the WNBA. While the league has lasted longer than some originally expected, many teams continue to struggle financially. The Storm, which is owned by the same consortium that owns the Sonics, eked out its first profit in the fiscal year ended Sept. 30, 2005. That financial performance was aided by the team's 2004 world championship season. WNBA teams try to use every ounce of marketing power they can muster to stay afloat, and player-oriented events in the offseason figure into that effort.
According to the league, about 60 percent of all WNBA players now play overseas during the offseason. The biggest destinations this year have been Russia and parts of eastern and western Europe.
Most players don't command the salaries that Bird and Jackson do, here or overseas.
Bird has a three-year deal with the team that ends after the 2006 season. Last year, she made about $90,000, said her agent, Dan Levy, who is director of women's sports at McLean, Va.-based Octagon. The team would not disclose Jackson's salary.
According to the WNBA Players Association, the average player makes about $50,000 per year. The league's minimum salary for rookies is $31,200 per year. No team can spend more than $700,000 per year on salaries -- the league salary cap.
By contrast, male NBA players earn an average of roughly $5 million a year.
Despite Bryant's concerns, WNBA and player union officials don't see offseason, overseas play as a problem.
"The fact that our athletes can show off their talents around the world is good for the game," said WNBA President Donna Orender. "I understand (Bryant's) point, and I absolutely want more of our players in their markets interacting with the fan base. That said, there's an opportunity for our players to go overseas. I don't think the two are mutually exclusive."
The WNBA Players Association went even further than Orender. Association Director of Operations Pam Wheeler said the union doesn't want to see any limits on what players do during the offseason, especially when their salaries are so low compared with the NBA and other sports.
"The (compensation) packages overseas are different than here because they can include things like travel expense clauses and housing costs," Wheeler said. "Some players make upwards of $10,000 per month."
The Storm's Bryant understands some WNBA players will always want to play abroad so they can supplement their income. She went so far as to say that one benefit of the Storm players playing in places such as Russia, the Czech Republic, China and Italy is that they gain more experience and skill.
But they also run the risk of injury.
"The players are our single most important asset," Bryant said.
Injuries to Storm players have already occurred. In late October, Jackson developed a stress fracture in her left leg. The injury isn't serious and she is expected to be back on the court at the end of December. In November, forward Natalia Vodopyanova broke her leg. Like Bird, she was playing in Russia for the Moscow Dynamo.
Bryant said both players should be ready for the 2006 season's training camp, which starts the third week in April.
One of the ways Bryant seeks to keep Storm players in Seattle during the offseason is through marketing partnerships with
third parties. She declined to comment on whether any of the Storm have such money-making deals pending.
"The onus is on us to create enough compelling opportunities for players like Sue (Bird) that she decides to stay here year-round," she said.
Bird's agent, Levy, said his client would rather do just that, if it were worth her while, financially.
"If she was able to replicate the kind of money she's making overseas with the Storm or through endorsement income, she'd prefer to stay in Seattle," he said.
Bird has one major endorsement deal -- a global marketing agreement with Nike.
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