We don’t know how Brittany Griner is being treated now, but we assume it’s better in a U.S. Army hospital in San Antonio, Texas, than any of the time she spent as a prisoner in Russia. I have thought a lot about her transition lately from prisoner to homebound American athlete following the swap of a Soviet prisoner the U.S. was holding.
I’ve also thought about Aaron Judge, who plays right field and hits home runs for the New York Yankees. Judge signed a new contract that will pay him $40 million a year for up to nine years.
Only two baseball pitchers top that figure; no on-field players.
Are athletes in general getting paid too much? I’ll let you decide. I’ve tried to come up with a formula. I can’t do it. Professional athletes generally have to maintain two residences: One for wherever they play and one where their family resides.
Before Griner was arrested, having played several seasons for a Russian team, she had signed a three-year contract with her WNBA team, the Phoenix Mercury, that paid her $221,515 a year. That contract runs out next year. If she chooses to play again, she and the Mercury will need to negotiate another.
I assume she received her Phoenix salary as well as what she had negotiated from her Moscow team. Brittany has a listed wealth of $5 million. Meanwhile she has a second wife, Cherelle, whom she married in 2019 following her divorce in 2016. Cherelle, who is 30, teaches math and earns $63,000 a year. She graduated from North Carolina Central College of Law.
It has been pointed out that Rocky, the mascot for the Denver Nuggets of the NBA, makes $625,000 a year, compared to $228,000, which is the most paid to WNBA players Diana Taurasi (who joked, “I can learn to be a mascot”), Jewell Lloyd and Brianna Stewart. The women’s salaries are the reason many WNBA players play in Europe after their U.S. seasons are completed.
The highest NBA salary plus off-field earnings without taxes goes to Lebron James at $121.1 million, which is second to Lionel Messi’s soccer earnings of $130 million in world earnings, according to Forbes, which compiled all figures in this article.
Next on Forbes’ list are Cristiano Ronaldo, soccer, $115 million; Neymar, soccer, $95 million; Stephen Curry, basketball, $92.8 million; Kevin Durant, basketball, $92.1 million; Roger Federer, tennis, $90.7 million; Canelo Alvarez, boxing, $90 million; Tom Brady, pro football $82.9 million, and 10th, Giannis Antetokounmpo, basketball, $80.9 million.
The highest paid baseball player for 2022 is No. 23, Mike Trout, $49.5 million. Judge will be on that list next year, as it runs from May 1 to May 1.
From basketball’s Miami Heat is Jimmy Butler, at No. 26, $48 million.
Auto racing has Formula 1’s Lewis Hamilton at No. 17 with $65 million.
There are no hockey players in the top 25.
From tennis and the top women are No.19, Naomi Osaka, $52.5 million, and No. 31, Serena Williams, $45.3 million.
Gone from 2021 is that year’s No. 1, Conor McGregor, who is listed as a UFC fighter and earned $150 million of his $180 million from Proper No. Twelve Irish Whiskey. This year, he dropped to No. 35 as he earned $43 million.
Comparing athletes to actors is no contest. Johnny Depp was paid $10 million for his role in Pirates of the Caribbean, a movie that brought in $300 million just for its distribution in the United States.
But the disparity between men’s and women’s basketball makes it clear why American women play abroad in the off-season.
