Brittney Griner, the American basketball star and former Olympian sentenced to nine years in a Russian penal colony on drug charges, is worth an estimated $5 million at the time of her sentencing, according to Celebrity Net Worth.
Griner, an eight-time WNBA All-Star and two-time Olympic gold medalist, was convicted August 4 after police said they found vape canisters containing cannabis oil in her luggage at Moscow's Sheremetyevo Airport. She appealed the sentence on October 25, but was denied by a Russian court.
Although expected, the ruling means that Griner's best chance at escaping prison remains a prisoner swap with the United States, but such a deal is politically fraught following Russia's invasion of Ukraine earlier this year. Furthermore, Griner's attorneys told assembled media on Tuesday that their client fears she will ultimately be forced to serve her full sentence.
Brittney Griner, the American basketball star and former Olympian sentenced to nine years in a Russian penal colony on drug charges, is worth an estimated $5 million at the time of her sentencing, according to Celebrity Net Worth
Following her arrest, many wondered why an American basketball star would be playing professionally in Russia, but the practice is actually common among WNBA players, who make only a fraction of what their male counterparts earn in the NBA.
Griner, for instance, had been playing for UMMC Ekaterinburg and was earning $1.5million for the off-season - six times her WNBA salary with the Phoenix Mercury.
RELATED ARTICLES
APPEAL DENIED: Brittney Griner will begin nine-year sentence... 
'POTUS, do your job': NBA star Kyrie Irving makes a direct...
Share this article
ShareIn fact, the WNBA caps earnings at slightly more than $215,000m while NBA players earn a media salary of $4,347,600.
Griner also pulled in a reported $600,000 in 2014 to play for China's Zhejiang Golden Bulls for three months.
But Griner also has other sources of income, such as her $1 million deal with Nike, who made her the company's first openly gay athlete back in 2013.
Griner had been playing for UMMC Ekaterinburg and was earning $1.5million for the off-season - six times her WNBA salary with the Phoenix Mercury
ncG1vNJzZmivp6x7pa3IpbCmmZmhe6S7ja6iaKugpL%2B1e9Kppquso6OyuL%2BOmqmtoZOhsm59kGxsbGxkanyDvsitq6edqWKUs7XNnqlmppWperi70a2fZmpgZ39vtNOmow%3D%3D