Brittney Griner, Sun Reportedly Agree to 7-Figure Contract in WNBA Free Agency After Dream Stint

Ten-time WNBA All-Star Brittney Griner wasn't ready to hang up her sneakers just yet.

The veteran center has agreed to a "seven-figure deal" with the Connecticut Sun, according to ESPN's Alexa Philippou.

Griner hardly missed a beat when returning to the court in 2023 after being wrongfully detained in Russia, and she continued to perform a high level in what proved to be her final year with the Mercury in 2024.

Signing the 34-year-old was a bit of a coup for the Atlanta Dream due to her reputation and continued performance. Despite playing in an attractive market, the Dream have struggled more than almost any other team to land marquee free agents.

While the Dream proceeded to post the best record in franchise history (30-14), their big offseason addition failed to measure up to the hype.

Griner averaged 9.8 points, 5.2 rebounds and 1.2 blocks in 39 appearances, and the arc of her season is evident in her playing time. Through May, she was averaging 25.7 minutes per contest, and she was only on the floor for 15.8 minutes across five September matchups.

Griner's usage fell even further as head coach Karl Smesko trimmed his rotation for the playoffs. She logged a total of 32 minutes as Atlanta was upset in the first round by the Indiana Fever in three games.

The WNBA was slower in adopting the strategic tenets fans associate with the NBA now, naming an emphasis on tempo and spacing the floor. The Dream's hiring of Smesko was a sign of how the pendulum has shifted. He built a reputation for embracing "Moreyball" and playing a faster offensive style that demanded a lot of three-pointers and shots around the basket.

Traditional bigs such as Griner are becoming less effective in the W, much as they did years ago in the NBA, and she's too deep into her career to think she can adapt like Dream teammate Naz Hillmon did.

Hillmon attempted six total three-pointers during her first three years in the WNBA, and it was a similar story during her college run at Michigan. In 2025, she had 5.3 attempted threes per game and was a 32.1 percent shooter from the perimeter. The 25-year-old became a totally different player offensively.

It's easy to see why Hillmon moved into the starting lineup as Griner got shifted to the second unit.

When it came to her free agency, Griner was bound to have some suitors if she wanted to come back for her 13th season. She shot 53.5 percent on two-pointers and remained an effective rim protector for Atlanta.

But the buzz surrounding this move isn't quite the same as when she joined the Dream last winter. That could work to Griner's benefit if she and head coach Rachid Meziane assume from the outset she's going to play a complementary rather than starring role in the team.