Three of he biggest fan favorites in women’s basketball – Deanna Nolan, Cheryl Ford and Janel McCarville – have been missing from the WNBA the last few years. Their agent, Mike Cound, said each has opted to play exclusively for overseas clubs because of their higher money-making potential. Cound characterized their decisions as risk-to-investment ratios.
“Nolan has made more over five years than she ever did in the WNBA,” Cound said. “Cheryl lost three million because of two injuries.”
“They can make up to $100,000 per month, whereas a job in the WNBA wouldn’t make them $100,000 over four months. In the WNBA, the odds of them getting injured for what they’re making per minute are imbalanced.”
Nolan and Ford both played for the former Detroit Shock through 2009, and McCarville was on the New York Liberty roster through 2010.
Nolan has played for the Russian team UMMC Ekaterinburg for the past 6 years.
Both Ford and McCarville play for Canik Belidisyae in Turkey, and played together last year for Schio in Italy.