Seattle Storm player Cierra Burdick spoke with the media on Monday, revealing that there were stipulations to whether or not players received the Commissioner’s Cup payout.
The Seattle Storm won the inaugural Commissioner’s Cup, downing the Connecticut Sun 79-57. Every Storm player was set to receive a $30,000 bonus for winning the Cup, but according to Burdick, she wasn’t given the full amount.
Cierra Burdick revealed that players didn't just get $30k for winning the Commissioner's Cup -- it depended a little on how many Cup games they played in and whether they saw the court during the Aug 12th game.— Em🌹🏳️🌈 (@em_adler) September 27, 2021
Cierra Burdick revealed that players didn't just get $30k for winning the Commissioner's Cup -- it depended a little on how many Cup games they played in and whether they saw the court during the Aug 12th game.
Burdick said that the full cash payout was determined by how many Cup games a player played in and whether or not they saw the court during the final on Aug. 12. While an initial $15,000 was awarded for playing in the final, each player had to have previously played in five Cup games in order to get the other $15,000.
“I’m just gonna keep it real, I did not get all of it,” she said, adding that it was still more than she expected. “I’m always grateful for a little extra change that I wasn’t expecting to drop in the bank account.
“I was actually one game shy of the [five game] threshold, so I got jibbed there,” she continued, laughing.
Burdick joined the team in July after bouncing around the league at the beginning of the season.
After the final, Storm teammate Breanna Stewart said that earning the bonus money for her teammates was a “motivating factor” in the win.
“We wanted to win for them. Obviously 30K is 30K for all of us, but for some of them, it’s, I don’t even know what the ratio is for Kiana [Williams], but it’s a lot. To really help them get that is amazing.”