It was the first birthday Brionna Jones has spent stateside in years.
Last winter, Jones celebrated her birthday on a basketball court in the Czech Republic, where for the past several years she’s suited up for her overseas team ZVVZ USK Praha during the WNBA offseason.
This year, Jones found herself on the campus of her alma mater, the University of Maryland, just a short drive from her native Baltimore, where she celebrated her 28th birthday at home.
“I’ve been playing for seven years [straight] now. This is my first offseason not playing,” Jones said.
Jones’ experience is common among WNBA players, many of whom, when asked, may have trouble recalling the last time they had a true offseason. For years, the most sensible choice for players looking to maximize their earning potential following the WNBA season was to play overseas.
As more offseason options steadily arise and the grip of the league’s prioritization rule begins to tighten, WNBA players have begun to seek out more opportunities that keep them in the United States and sufficiently compensate them.
One of those opportunities is offered by the league itself. In 2020, as part of the WNBA and WNBPA collective bargaining agreement, the player marketing agreement program was implemented in which a select number of WNBA players are asked to participate in league-marketing initiatives to help grow the WNBA brand and increase its offseason visibility. Players are paid for their participation in the program, which runs through the end of the 2024 WNBA season.
“When we thought about the program and implementing it and evolving it over the last couple of years, it’s been about building individual brands of players and also collectively working to grow the league and we do that by connecting with partners, having them be a part of key WNBA initiatives and tentpole and really keeping them in spaces where they are culturally relevant,” said WNBA head of league operations Bethany Donaphin.
This year’s cohort, announced Thursday, includes Jewell Loyd (Seattle Storm), Rhyne Howard (Atlanta Dream), Aliyah Boston (Indiana Fever), Brionna Jones (Connecticut Sun), Arike Ogunbowale (Dallas Wings) and Shakira Austin (Washington Mystics).
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The 2020 collective bargaining agreement requires the league to spend $1 million total on player marketing agreements per year. If the league doesn’t meet that payout in one season, it gets carried over to the next season. According to the agreement, no single player can make more than $250,000 per annual agreement.
As a part of the agreement, players participating in the program are prohibited from playing overseas.
“Obviously our players are always getting opportunities and it’s not always predictable when they will come. Part of the commitment we have in being a part of this program is not going overseas,” Donaphin said.
“We certainly recognize that’s a sacrifice and some players have chosen to forgo an opportunity to be a part of this program to go overseas, and that’s OK. One of our priorities is that we are going to have a group that’s available in the States.”
Despite the earning potential players have overseas, committing to play internationally every offseason was not something Howard saw herself doing. Last offseason, in an effort to give international play a chance, Howard, a guard, played for Italian powerhouse Famila Wuber Schio. Though she enjoyed her time in Italy, Howard said, she felt restricted on the court and didn’t fit the style of play.
As a superstar of the latest generation of WNBA players, the ability to have a choice in the offseason is an opportunity Howard is grateful for – aware that the same options weren’t afforded to generations past.
“I feel like it’s very beneficial. Even when I talk to older players who say I had to play for however many years, I don’t think I would make it any more than what I did,” said Howard, who suggested that rookies go overseas for at least one offseason to see if the experience is for them.
“Just being able to have that [freedom] to not go overseas and also find things where I can still make money, it’s helpful. Especially for this generation. I feel like a lot of kids in my generation and the generation coming up are not going to want to play overseas as well.”
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Jones’ perspective is different. The two-time All-Star has been a proponent of international play, relishing the opportunity to play year-round and work on her game.
Jones, though, who has spent this past offseason rehabbing after rupturing her Achilles last June, has also seen the benefits of spending an offseason at home. She said that decision may not be as clear-cut as before.
“The top one is just being able to spend time with my family and friends,” Jones said, adding that she’ll be ready for the start of the 2024 season. “Then being able to work on things specifically without having to think about it, I have a game next week. Just being able to have that time in between, rest my body and do all the recovery that I need to do when the WNBA season starts.”
Since its inception in 2020, Donaphin says that there has been a growing interest among players in the program, which aims to assist players in building their personal brands and connecting them with established league partners. The program is said to be tailored to the individual based on her interests and the status of the growth of her brand. The new class has a range of experience, from Loyd, widely known as the Gold Mamba, to Jones who said she feels like she is “starting from ground zero,” and is looking to the program to help boost her brand growth.
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Donaphin added that past players have gone on to ink individual deals with brands that they first interacted with through the program.
“We want to make sure that the world knows who WNBA players are,” Donaphin said. “We’re seeing brands really show up and I want to see that continue to grow because it’s an important component about how we really market the league and how players can build their own individual brands.”
Though the program pays players, it isn’t a substitute for overseas compensation, which can reach into six figures for the league’s top stars. Currently it supplements income. Multiple players in the program have pursued other ventures this offseason. Boston has begun a broadcasting career as an analyst for NBC Sports. Howard and Jones are collegiate coaches – Jones with Maryland and Howard at the University of Florida, her mother’s alma mater.
“It’s helping me adjust to and navigate different personalities and how everybody likes to be coached,” Howard said. “Just being able to watch and see how others approach the game and take the time to look at what other people are doing, it’s big. Now I can take it back and apply it to my own team.”
Howard said that due to not playing overseas she won’t be as close to game shape entering WNBA training camp as a year ago, but she’s looking forward to starting the year at 100%, her body rested. Despite not playing overseas, Howard, Boston and Ogunbowale still found time to compete this offseason, each participating in USA Basketball training camp and collegiate exhibitions to prepare for the Paris Games.
Howard believes that offseason options for players will continue to grow with the increased growth of the WNBA – something she hopes to be a part of through opportunities like the program.
“If we can do all the work now, especially with the next generation coming in and the impact they’re going to have on our game, it’ll only continue to pave the way for them,” Howard said. “Being able to be a part of this, show people what it’s actually like to get to know us off the court and why we do this and what we get out of it – you have to do that in order for everything else to be better.”
