Morgan Tuck has been bombarded with questions about her future. So much so that UConn emailed the press and asked them to leave her alone. Tuck is completing her fourth season, chasing history and trying to stay healthy all while facing a critical decision at the end of the year: whether to declare for the WNBA Draft or return to UConn to complete her eligibility.
Let’s break down the key factors that will influence that decision.
Money
When we discuss the pros and cons of male athletes leaving college early, money is always the first order of business, and it should be no different for Tuck. Unfortunately, the financial opportunities available in the WNBA are limited. This year and next, the top four draft picks in the league will begin their careers earning $48,670. Howard Megdal, of the new and fantastic Excelle Sports, recently did a mock draft that featured Tuck as the fourth pick. If Tuck were to be drafted fifth through eighth, she would start at $45,035. Should she drop to the ninth pick or lower in the first round, her first year salary would be $40,188. While the difference between the fourth and ninth picks represents a 17 percent pay cut, over the course of the respective rookie contracts (three years plus an option), the total discrepancy is less than $40,000.
Put another way, even under the near-worst case scenario, if Tuck returns to UConn to maximize her draft stock, she won’t earn significantly more money in the WNBA.
Of course, in modern women’s basketball, the WNBA represents only a fraction of a player’s earning potential. The real money is overseas where stars like Diana Taurasi and Maya Moore earn up to ten times their WNBA salaries by playing for teams in Russia or China. The biggest numbers are obviously reserved for the biggest stars, but spending four months of the winter in another continent could increase Tuck’s bottom line.
Now, here’s the other side of the coin — one we rarely talk about when discussing men’s players’ professional opportunities. Tuck is expected to graduate UConn this May with a bachelor’s degree in business. Were she to return for her fifth year, she would be a graduate student, able to earn (for free, as part of her scholarship) her MBA. The average first-year salary for a master’s level business administration/ management employee is over $70,000 according to the National Association of Colleges and Employers. Earning her graduate degree has the potential to impact her career earnings more than any basketball decision she could make.
History
Should UConn win the national championship this year as expected, Tuck will join Moriah Jefferson and Breanna Stewart as the first players in the history of the sport to win four consecutive titles. Were Tuck to come back, she could have a chance at a fifth. Let that sink in for a moment because the chances of it happening again are incredibly small. Tuck has a chance to legitimately be the winningest player — man or woman — to ever play college basketball. Is that worth anything to Tuck? Who knows? But being the answer to a trivia question for the rest of your life is kind of cool.
A stellar statistical season would also vault Tuck up the UConn leaderboards, cementing her legacy as an important figure in the program’s history. After this season, Tuck will probably drink for free in Connecticut for life, but 500 more points would be a nice kicker.
Branding
To further that point, should Tuck return next season she will be the presumptive favorite to win the National Player of the Year award. That, coupled with the national attention she could garner by pursuing a fifth championship, will get Tuck’s name in a lot of articles and her face on a lot of TV sets.
Bringing this back to money, although female athletes traditionally lack the endorsement opportunities available to their male counterparts, it’s just plain easier to get paid when you’re famous. Tuck’s value to the weird overseas billionaires that control international women’s basketball would improve exponentially if she carried more recognition across the ocean. Given that’s where Tuck stands to make the most money immediately, it’s more than just a small consideration.
Health
All of this brings us to the elephant in the room: Tuck’s health. She battled a knee injury her freshman season. Tuck redshirted during her sophomore year with knee injuries. She also missed two weeks of action earlier this season due to a knee injury. If Tuck feels her knees will prevent her from having a long professional career, does that make it more appealing to start receiving paychecks as soon as possible? Or does it emphasize the importance of maximizing her free educational opportunities? There may not be a correct answer, but long-term health should be a big factor in her decision.
***
With all of this on the table, is it clear which path Tuck should choose? There are pros and cons on each side of the page. Megdal thinks Tuck will leave. Coach Geno Auriemma’s preemptive wistfulness in this recent Hartford Courant article seems to indicate he’s preparing to lose Tuck at year’s end. Yet, the ultimate decision still rests with Tuck herself, who will be forced to make a life-altering choice almost immediately after the season ends.
