Feb. 19 (UPI) -- Brittney Griner, the star WNBA player who was detained in Russia for nearly 10 months on drug charges, has reportedly signed a one-year contract with the Phoenix Mercury.
Griner, 32, signed $165,100 contract with the Mercury on Saturday, according to ESPN and The New York Times.
The athlete was drafted by the team in 2013 and has played with the Mercury for nine seasons. She missed the 2022 season because she was detained in Russia.
Before her arrest in Moscow, Griner led the Mercury to the 2021 WNBA Finals after one of the best seasons of her career -- but the team lost to the Chicago Sky.
Griner became the unwitting center of a political dispute between the United States and Russia amid the war in Ukraine after she was arrested at the Sheremetyevo Airport in February 2022.
Russian authorities alleged she was carrying vape canisters with cannabis oil and she was sentenced to nine years in prison in August.
Griner was released in a prisoner swap in December after appeals to the administration of President Joe Biden to help free her. She was exchanged for Viktor Bout, a notorious Russian arms dealer.
"I also want to make one thing very clear: I intend to play basketball for the WNBA's Phoenix Mercury this season," Griner said in a message on Instagram after her release.
"In doing so, I look forward to being able to say 'thank you' to those of you who advocated, wrote, and posted for me in person soon."
