Brittney Griner Bio: Net Worth, Salary, and Professional Career

Brittney Griner is a name that is responsible for taking the name of the WNBA through her sheer natural talent to the minds of basketball fanatics. Her promising ability on the court is her humongous size and wingspan, and she sells it as well. Her extraordinary abilities got her the reputation that she deserved and made her an indelible mark on the history of women’s basketball. However, the spree is not over yet.

Though Brittney faced some ups and downs, like the Hash Oil incident in Russia that we will discuss later, she did not falter from her path and continued to pursue excellence in the sports world. In the following article, we will go through every aspect of life that Brittney Griner experienced in her life. It will be more than her on-court life, reflecting the journey that she has gone through to deserve the current status in women’s athletics.

Brittney Griner Early Life

Brittney Griner was born in Houston, Texas, on October 18, 1990. Her parents are Sandra Griner and Raymond Griner. She has three older siblings, D, Shkera, and Pier. She completed her high school at Nimitz High School in Houston. Initially, Griner was not interested in basketball; rather, she played other sports such as volleyball. She became inclined towards basketball when she became taller. In her early life, due to her long height, she was bullied and teased.

Brittney Griner Personal Information

Brittney Griner is a professional American basketball player. She was born in Houston, Texas, USA. She has won three Olympic gold medals for the U.S. women’s national basketball team. She is a six-time WNBA All-Star. Brittney Griner's Instagram handle is @brittneyyevettegriner. She has 154 posts, 745K followers, and 1524 following. She has shared moments from her life and basketball career on her account.

Brittney Griner Personal Life

Brittney Griner is a coveted basketball player, having the privilege of attending the WNBA All-Star games six times in her career. However, it all started for her back in Houston when she was born to Ray and Sandra Griner. As per WNBA, once she said that she would have been a police officer just like her father if she had not chosen basketball as her career. The early education of Brittney Griner happened at Nimitz High School. Due to her unusual size in high school, Griner used to play for the varsity volleyball team in her freshman season.

Measuring her immense potential, the coaches of her high school team focused more on Brittney Griner’s dunking abilities in her Sophomore season at the high school. She even used to practice basketball with the boys’ high school team to get the hang of sheer competitiveness and up her game. As the junior season approached, Brittney Griner had already gone viral for her dunks on YouTube that ultimately landed her a meeting with the NBA icon and legend Shaquille O’Neal.

In her senior season, she led the Nimitz High School girls’ basketball team to the Texas 5A State Championship. But unfortunately, she could not secure the title for the team. Yet she was impeccable as a player, dishing out 52 assists in just 32 games of her senior season. On November 11, 2008, she charted history by blocking 25 shots in a single game. It was the most number of blocks that a female high school basketball player ever recorded in the US. But Brittney Griner had bigger goals to pursue as she chose to go for college basketball to make a big impact in the sport.

Brittney Griner Parents

Brittney Griner parents are Raymond and Sandra Griner. Griner’s family has three older siblings, along with her mother and father. Her father, Raymond, was the reason that Brittney moved ahead with the sport of basketball. She also has three siblings who are older than her, one of whom is a sister. The names of her siblings are DeCarlo, Shkera, and Pier.

Brittney Griner Wife

Brittney Griner wife is Cherelle Watson. According to US Weekly, Cherelle Watson was one of her college mates whom Brittney got involved with during her collegiate days. In August 2018, Brittney proposed to Cherelle and got engaged. That announcement that Griner uploaded on her Instagram that day read, “I will never forget the first time I said I love you, and I will never forget when you said YES! My best friend, my lover, my partner in life. I love you. I’m so lucky to have you in my life forever. You never gave up on me, even when I gave up on myself. You pulled me from the ashes and held me up when I couldn’t stand. You really are my backbone and my spirit that keeps me going. I love you, baby.”

A year after her engagement, Brittney married Cherelle a year after her engagement in June 2019. Brittney was married to Glory Johnson for a brief period and had two daughters through the IVF procedure. The names of her daughters are Ava Simone and Solei Diem. But soon, Brittney Griner filed for divorce and separated from her wife.

Brittney Griner Kids

Brittney Griner and her wife, Cherelle, welcomed their son, Bash Raymond, on July 8, 2024. The couple was very happy while announcing their pregnancy in April 2024, expressing their excitement to meet their child. Since Bash's birth, they have shared their happiness as new parents. Brittney has mentioned how becoming a parent has shifted her focus, with Bash now being her central priority. She also has twins, Ava Simone and Solei Diem, from her previous marriage.

Brittney Griner’s Contract

Brittney Griner entered into a one-year agreement with the Atlanta Dream for the 2025 WNBA season, securing a base salary of $214,466, which also represents her guaranteed compensation and salary cap impact. This move signifies a new phase in her WNBA journey, following her initial eleven seasons with the Phoenix Mercury.

Over her WNBA career, Griner's earnings have seen consistent growth. Following her initial rookie contract (2013-2016), she signed a four-year extension. While specific annual figures fluctuate, her WNBA salary has reached the maximum permissible under the league's current collective bargaining agreement in recent years.

Similar to many elite WNBA players, Griner also significantly increased her earnings by playing overseas during the WNBA offseason, notably in Russia, where top-tier player salaries can be considerably higher, reportedly reaching $1 million or more per season. Brittney Girner contract earnings alone are estimated to exceed $1.5 million through the 2025 season.

Brittney Griner Salary

Brittney Griner has made a total of $1,318,450 in career earnings apart from her rookie contract in the WNBA. The contract is usually worth $75,000 a year. However, it can vary depending on the career chart and performance of the player during the tournament. She has earned significant amounts for her service as a basketball player. And it is not just the WNBA that provides her a source of earnings. During the offseason, she used to play for the Russian basketball league teams. However, after the 2022 incident that almost got her imprisonment extended for 9 years, she refrained from such sources of income.

Nevertheless, we have presented Brittney Griner salary as per the Sportrac archives.

Brittney Griner’s Net Worth

Brittney Griner net worth can be estimated at about $5 million, but there is no relevant information about her exact worth. She has an ample amount of salary as per the WNBA payslip. Along with this, she also has secondary sources of income using her marketability and selling abilities.

Key Financial Sources:

• WNBA Salary: A major component of her income.
• Endorsements: Partnerships with brands like Nike.
• Overseas Contracts: Playing internationally has escalated her earnings.
• Appearances and Merchandise: Revenue from appearances and Brittney Griner jerseys that are sold across the globe.

Brittney Griner Career

Brittney Griner, a dominant center, has played 11 seasons in the WNBA, primarily for the Phoenix Mercury, before joining the Atlanta Dream in 2025. Let's take a quick look at her career stats from the initial days of her basketball career

Brittney Griner High School Career

Brittney Griner attended Nimitz High School in Houston, Texas, where her basketball journey truly began. She initially played volleyball as a freshman but switched to basketball during her sophomore year. She practiced with the boys' team and even trained with a football coach to build leg strength for dunking. By her junior year, a YouTube clip of her dunking had gone viral with over 6.6 million views, drawing national attention. In her senior year, Griner averaged over one dunk per game, totaling 52 dunks in 32 games, and famously had seven in a single game.

On November  11, 2008, she set the high‑school single‑game record with 25 blocks and finished the season with 318 blocks. She led Nimitz to the Texas 5A state title game, earned WBCA All-American honors, and starred in the 2009 WBCA All-America Game with 20 points and nine rebounds

Brittney Griner College Career

As a freshman at Baylor, Brittney Griner made an immediate impact, earning the team’s MVP and Rebounding Award. She received second-team 2010 All-America honors from the Associated Press and was named USBWA Freshman of the Year and Memphis Regional Most Outstanding Player. Griner set NCAA, Big 12, and Baylor records with 223 blocks, including an NCAA Tournament-record 40 blocks and a single-game record 14 against Georgetown. She led the nation in blocks per game (6.4) and triple-doubles (3), and also ranked top 30 in scoring and double-doubles. Her 34-point, 13-rebound, 11-block triple-double against ORU was a program first, and she had back-to-back triple-doubles against Colorado and Oklahoma.

As a sophomore, Griner was named National Defensive Player of the Year and Big 12 Player of the Year, finishing with 23.0 PPG and 170 blocks. She passed 1,000 points in just 51 games and earned MVP honors in multiple tournaments. In her junior year, she swept national honors, including the Wooden Award, Naismith Trophy, and AP Player of the Year, while leading Baylor to a national title. She posted 18 double-doubles and a career-high 45 points in the Big 12 Tournament. As a senior, she again swept national awards and became the first woman to dunk eight times in NCAA history.

Griner recorded her 1,000th rebound, scored a Big 12-record 50 points on Senior Night, and led Baylor to its third straight conference title, ending her college career with 63 double-doubles and unmatched dominance on both ends of the court. Brittney Griner college career has been nothing but incredible.

Brittney Griner Professional Career

Brittney Griner has established herself as one of the most dominant players in WNBA history. She helped lead the Phoenix Mercury to a WNBA Championship in 2014, just a year after joining the league, demonstrating her immediate impact and loyalty to the franchise.

Griner is a six-time WNBA All-Star, an honor that reflects both her consistent on-court performance and her popularity among fans. Known for her defensive excellence since her college days, she earned the WNBA Defensive Player of the Year award in back-to-back seasons (2015 and 2016), solidifying her reputation as a shot-blocking and rebounding powerhouse. Internationally, Griner has also shone.

She was a key player on the U.S. national team that won gold at the 2016 Rio Olympics. Additionally, she won gold medals at the FIBA Women’s Basketball World Championships in 2014 and 2018, earning MVP honors in the 2018 final and being named to the ‘All-Star Five’ in 2014.

The table is a breakdown of Brittney Griner stats from the WNBA as per the ESPN record. The 2021 season was interrupted due to the interference that she experienced.

Brittney Griner Awards and Achievements

Brittney Griner led the Phoenix Mercury and won the WNBA Championships (2014). She was a finalist for WNBA MVP (Most Valuable Player). Griner has been selected as a WNBA All-Star (2013-2019). She was 2 times (2014, 2015) WNBA Defensive Player of the Year. Brittney Griner has achieved many awards and titles at every level. During her freshman season, she led her team to an undefeated NCAA Championship in 2012In the WNBA, primarily with the Phoenix Mercury, she secured the 2014 championship, earned 10 All-Star selections, was twice named Defensive Player of the Year (2014, 2015), and received three All-WNBA First Team honors. Griner has also dominated on the international stage, winning three Olympic gold medals (2016, 2021, 2024) and two FIBA World Cup gold medals (2014, 2018) with Team USA. Her collegiate dominance is highlighted by being the only NCAA player to reach 2,000 points and 500 blocks, while in the WNBA, she holds records for blocked shots.