Caitlin Clark’s early woes and a predictably fumbled rollout of a constitution flight program aren’t the one factor that has WNBA followers speaking after the opening week of the season. They’re additionally chatting about fly outfits, Angel Reese, and the title for the new Golden State franchise too.
The Las Vegas Aces emerged as one other level of debate for followers of the game on Friday, however not as a result of of A’ja Wilson or the workforce’s iced-out 2023 championship rings.
Steve Hill, the president of the Las Vegas Conference and Guests Authority, introduced that the LVCA is gifting every Aces participant with a $100,000 sponsorship.
The town of Las Vegas is sponsoring each participant on the Aces roster and gifting them every $100,000.
“The supply is absolutely easy: We would like you to only play, hold repping Las Vegas and in the event you get a three-peat, that may be icing on the cake.”
🎥 @Vegas pic.twitter.com/hJxWXlDW2R
— The Athletic (@TheAthletic) Could 17, 2024
“The supply is absolutely easy: We would like you to only play, hold repping Las Vegas and in the event you get a three-peat, that may be icing on the cake.”
That’s fairly superior, proper? An entire lot of individuals have bemoaned how WNBA salaries pale as compared to their counterparts within the NBA or different skilled sports activities. It’s protected to imagine that almost all people watching the WNBA need to see gamers receives a commission extra.
Nonetheless, is that this a loophole? Is that this a aggressive benefit? Is that this an instance of the Aces circumventing the league’s wage cap (which they’ve already been accused of doing beforehand)? Does any of that even matter?
the aces get in hassle for cap circumvention, then are like, what if we simply do that loudly and proudly and publicly??? then what???? it is excellent. no notes.
— Lindsay Gibbs (@linzsports) Could 17, 2024
WNBA followers had questions after the announcement from Hill and the Aces.
And rightly so. As a result of within the WNBA, a $100,000 increase to a participant’s wage is a fairly large deal.
Think about that the league’s highest paid gamers – Arike Ogunbowale, Kahleah Copper and Jewell Loyd – make simply $241,984 this 12 months in wage. Simply two Aces gamers make $200,000 in Wilson and Kelsey Plum, and 6 Aces gamers will make lower than $100,000 this season in keeping with HerHoopStats. Considered one of them, Sydney Colson, referred to as this sponsorship “a life-changing funding.”
Please do not learn this the mistaken method as a result of @WNBA gamers are ridiculously underpaid. However does not the @Vegas CVB giving every Aces participant an additional $100k violate the league wage cap?
— Chuck Cooperstein (@coopmavs) Could 18, 2024
One might make the case that Wilson ($200,000), Plum ($200,000), Chelsea Grey ($196,267) and Jackie Younger ($169,950) are already taking a pay reduce so the Aces might type this tremendous workforce that has helped them win two straight championships and made them favorites to seize a 3rd. Every of these gamers, arguably, are among the many prime 15 gamers in the entire WNBA and will earn a super-max contract – or near it – elsewhere. However that is the kind of financial sacrifice that we as sports activities followers usually reward: when a participant takes a lesser wage so their teammates can earn extra, for the betterment of the workforce. It’s one thing that seven-time Tremendous Bowl-winning quarterback Tom Brady – now a co-owner of the Aces – was usually celebrated for in his NFL profession.
From The Athletic:
“The Aces have been in a position to re-sign their star gamers at below-market contracts… Grey, Younger, Plum and Wilson have signed for considerably decrease than their allowable super-max. In 2024, every of the core 4 is making at the very least $40,000 lower than their max, an enormous quantity of value financial savings when the wage cap is $1.43 million.”
However what occurs when Las Vegas woos one other all-star to their workforce at a considerably decrease charge as a result of the town’s tourism board can simply make up the deficit? Will the WNBA do something about that? Will they see it as an unfair benefit?
Furthermore, what’s stopping another workforce from doing this? Will that create a brand new line between haves and have-nots within the league, or will it result in the WNBA growing its cap and transforming its wage guidelines?
Or will the WNBA see this as a authorized recruiting software, akin to a elaborate new observe facility or an ideal fan tradition? Each of which, by the best way, the Aces have already got.
Together with the constitution flight saga and additional growth, how the WNBA’s wage cap and its guidelines regulate will probably be one thing to carefully monitor going ahead.
