Atlanta Dream guard Rhyne Howard will be staying in the United States this offseason due to multiple job opportunities. Howard recently joined the University of Florida women’s basketball team as an assistant coach and director of player personnel while also being selected as one of the new cohort of players for WNBA marketing and promotional agreements.
Howard played last offseason in Italy for Famila Wuber Schio, but she did not feel like overseas play was what she wanted to do in the offseason. Many players don’t have a choice when it comes to taking a break during the offseason or playing overseas because of financial reasons. However, more opportunities are provided to these players to keep them stateside if they want to stay.
“Just being able to have that (freedom) to not go overseas and also find things where I can still make money, it’s helpful,” Howard told Andscape. “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.”
Former Connecticut Sun forward Brionna Jones, and current free agent, has spent seven years in a row overseas. This year, she has also been selected for a WNBA marketing and promotional agreement.
“I’ve been playing for seven years (straight) now. This is my first offseason not playing,” Jones said.
Jones shared the benefits of staying home during the offseason, although she is a proponent of playing overseas.
“The top one is just being able to spend time with my family and friends,” Jones said. “Then being able to work on things specifically without having to think about (having a game). 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.”
While players have differing perspectives on staying home or playing overseas, the big change to seasons past is the choice. Many players can now choose to stay home or play abroad. In years past, players did not have the opportunity to stay in the United States. More opportunities will continue to arise stateside with the increased influx of sponsorship dollars into the league and increased viewership.
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