Diana Taurasi goes scorched earth on WNBA pay

Diana Taurasi kept it real.

The self-titled three-episode docuseries premieres on Thursday, and Prime Video teased fans on Wednesday with a clip from the series where Taurasi details the struggle and grind of WNBA salaries during the days of her playing career.

“The f–king janitor at the arena made more than me,” she said.

Taurasi recounted having to use WNBA offseasons to secure bigger paydays by playing in other leagues overseas.

“I’m the best player in the world and I have to go to a communist country to get paid like a capitalist,” Taurasi said. “We weren’t making that much money, so generational wealth was coming from going to Russia every year. 

“Now we have to come back home and get paid nothing, to play in a harder league, in worse conditions, against the best competition in the world.”

And it wasn’t just the pay that bothered her, as life started to pass her by when she had to spend months out of the year playing in Russia.

“One time I came back and I was like, ‘Man, my parents have just gotten older and I’ve missed a big part of it,’” Taurasi said.

Taurasi retired in 2024 and is widely considered to be one of the greatest WNBA players of all time after her 20-year career with the Mercury.

While she quit spending her offseasons overseas in 2017, the majority of the league today still takes its talents outside the U.S. in the offseason to stay sharp and earn extra money, as foreign leagues can often pay players double what the WNBA does or more.

While the WNBA has more eyes than ever in 2025, the salaries haven’t necessarily aligned with how much attention the league gets. Taursi made $234,936 in her final WNBA season.

The WNBA Players Association has been in negotiations with league commissioner Cathy Engelbert for a new collective bargaining agreement, and uncertainty is looming as the sides seem to have not progressed much.

At the All-Star Game in late July, players wore shirts reading, “Pay us what you owe us.”