Overseas Athlete Guide: China

The China guide just dropped.

This one required more depth than most. China is the highest-paying overseas basketball market for American players and also the most legally and culturally complex destination on the entire circuit. Players land there without understanding what they are actually walking into, and the gap between what they expected and what is real can cost them money, freedom, or both.

This guide covers everything. The CBA import rules and why they keep changing. How your contract structure affects your net pay after Chinese individual income tax, which tops out at 45 percent. The capital controls that delay international wire transfers even when your club is paying on time. The Great Firewall and what that means for your daily life and your social media. Drug laws that carry criminal penalties for possession of things that are legal back home, including CBD. The political speech risk that most players do not think about until it becomes a problem. How to get your money from a Chinese bank account back to your U.S. account. And a full breakdown of every major CBA market, from Beijing and Shanghai to Xinjiang, so you understand the lifestyle difference before you commit to a city.

This guide also addresses something the other guides do not have to: the financial infrastructure is completely different. Cash is barely used. WeChat Pay and Alipay run everything. Setting that up correctly in the first week determines how smooth the rest of your season goes.

China pays well. It also demands more preparation than any other market we have covered. This guide gives you that preparation before you land.

The full series now covers France, Australia, Greece, Japan, Spain, Italy, and China. More coming.

Stay locked in. More guides coming soon.​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​