Vegas tourism authority sponsoring each Aces player for $100K in 2024 and 2025; WNBA investigating.
Vegas tourism authority sponsoring each Aces player for $100K in 2024 and 2025.
LAS VEGAS — The Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority is providing a $100,000 annual sponsorship to each Aces player for this season and 2025.
The WNBA is investigating whether the sponsorships are allowed.
This isn’t the Aces first run-in with the league over the last few years. Last year, the WNBA suspended Aces coach Becky Hammon for two games and took away the Aces’ 2025 first-round draft pick because the franchise violated league rules regarding impermissible player benefits and workplace policies.
The sponsorship does not violate the WNBA’s salary cap because the Las Vegas authority did not orchestrate it with the club. But other teams are likely to raise questions about the fairness of the sponsorship and whether it violates the spirit of the cap rules.
The authority posted a video on X of president and CEO Steve Hill telling the players in the locker room the news on Friday.
“The Aces have been on an historic run — two-time world champions,” Hill said on the video before informing the players. “We’re here to do something historic with them, too.”
The players were thrilled by the move.
“The city of Vegas I’ve always said, it’s a big small town and they just want the best for the people here,” point guard Chelsea Gray said before the Aces' home game Saturday against the Los Angeles Sparks. «They’re investing in us and so they put their money where their mouth is. We’ve done so much for the city and having fun doing it.
“It was a great moment for me and my teammates, of somebody actually putting funds behind, saying that they’re supporting and they want to have our back.”
According to the website Spotrac, which tracks player
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