Known for her dominance on the court, Jonquel Jones is a force in the paint. Drafted as the 6th overall pick in 2016, Jones was a member of the Connecticut Sun for six seasons. While she was there, she earned the 2021 WNBA MVP honors and then signed a 2-year deal with Connecticut worth $416,150. However, not being able to win a title after several trips to the WNBA Finals, she requested a trade and was sent to the New York Liberty before the 2023 season.

Since then, the 3x WNBA rebounding leader has been an integral part of the team. Perhaps teaming up with Breanna Stewart and Sabrina Ionescu was the only vibe she needed to excel. She arrived on Liberty’s roster with a two-year contract she had lastly signed with the Sun. Hence, the 6-foot-6 center has established her status as one of the league’s elite rim protectors. So, let’s explore how much she has been earning since her arrival on the team.

Jonquel Jones’ earnings with the New York Liberty

It was in 2023 January when Jones was traded to New York as a part of a 4-team trade between New York, Connecticut, LA, and Dallas. That season, she earned a base salary of $211,150, with an annual cap hit of $190,000.

After helping the Liberty reach the WNBA Finals last season, she re-signed a 2-year deal worth $385,000 with an average annual salary of $192,500. “In just 1 season, she became an indelible part of the Liberty’s core identity, on & off-the-court, and keeping her in seafoam was our first priority in open free agency as we continue our championship pursuit in 2024,” said Liberty’s General Manager, Jonathan Kolb as she gave Jones her flowers after extending her contract in 2024.

This season, she is receiving a base salary of $190,000. This deal will run through the 2025 season, making Jones a free agent in 2026. So far in her 8-year career in the W, Jones has made career earnings of $903, 920 with two different teams. However, this isn’t the only place she gets her money from.

Maybe that’s why in 2022, she was hellbent on playing overseas despite the pandemic disrupting the overseas play in the offseason. She put it like, “I’m going to have to deal with it. Because I feel like while the league is making the right and necessary strides to pay us more and ensure that if we don’t want to go overseas, we don’t have to, I just feel like in my situation, the money is not comparable. I have to think about the financial status of my family and everybody else, and also the opportunities that I’m leaving if I don’t go so.”

The 5x All-Star has expanded her skills beyond the WNBA

Besides playing in the W, Jonquel Jones has a familiarity when it comes to the European and Asian basketball styles of play. Given the fact that several WNBA players happen to fly overseas to compete in the offseason, just to make ends meet, financially.

Well, Jones happens to be one of those as her WNBA salary fades when compared to what she makes abroad. For a better context, the amount she makes in a season is equivalent to what she makes in a month in Russia. Hence, there is too much to pass up for her. In the 2022 offseason, Jones had signed a two-year deal with an average annual salary of $208, 075.

Her first overseas stint took place in the 2016-17 offseason when she signed with the Korean basketball team, Asan Woori Bank Wibee. Putting on a stellar display, Jones led the team to the championship.

Then, in October 2017, Jones signed with the Women’s Chinese Basketball Association’s Shanxi Flame to play in the 2017-18 season. Thereafter, JJ signed with UMMC Ekaterinburg in August 2018. However, she had to leave the team after Russia invaded Ukraine in February 2022.

Meanwhile, she joined the Cukurova Basketbol, a Turkish women’s basketball club based in Mersin, Turkey, and participated in the Women’s Basketball Super League. While that has been going on, a better solution did come along, i.e. the formation of Athletes Unlimited, which is a women’s professional basketball league in the U.S. that features 40 of the best women’s professional basketball players in the world.

Jones described the matter with a distinct perspective and said, “I would say probably when I’m leaving the league, players probably won’t have to do it, players of my caliber who are going to make that top dollar overseas, they’ll have the options to stay here and make the same money. But I don’t think I’ll see it in my career. I hope so.” Participation in this league has allowed players to remain home instead of flying overseas and supplement their annual earnings.