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The WNBA is investigating the Las Vegas tourism authority’s decision to offer each Las Vegas Aces player an annual $100,000 sponsorship for the 2024 and 2025 seasons, a spokesperson told ESPN.
The league is likely to look into whether the $1.2 million agreement “violates the spirit” of the WNBA’s $1.46 million salary cap, ESPN reported.
Aces star A’ja Wilson commented on the investigation after her team’s 89-82 win over the Los Angeles Sparks on Saturday:
A’ja Wilson @_ajawilson22
finding out ya team is under investigation right after a game is OD 😩 like huhhhhhh 😂😂 what happened to growing the game ?¿?¿
The Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority announced the promotion Friday with a video posted on X.
“We would like to offer each of you individually a sponsorship for this year in the amount of $100,000,” LVCVA president and CEO Steve Hill told players in the video.
“The offer’s really simple: we want you to just play, we want you to keep repping Las Vegas, and if you get a three-peat, that’d be icing on the cake,” Hill told the defending WNBA champions.
Aces players signed a contract agreeing to “reach mutually agreeable opportunities for appearances on Las Vegas’ behalf” as part of the deal, Callie Lawson-Freeman reported for the Las Vegas Review-Journal.
The players also agreed to wear city-branded merchandise to promote Las Vegas, according to Lawson-Freeman.
Hill told Lawson-Freeman that the deal was negotiated without the Aces’ knowledge to abide by league rules.
The sponsorship, which exceeds the WNBA minimum salary of $64,000, is worth more than the annual salary earned by six Aces players, according to Spotrac.
The sum is significant even for Aces stars like Kelsey Plum and A’ja Wilson, who will receive team-high salaries of $200,000 for the 2024 campaign.
Aces guard Sydney Colson, who will make a base salary of just over $76,000 for the 2024 season, called the sponsorship “a life-changing investment.”
The ongoing investigation marks the second season in a row the defending champions have been the subject of league scrutiny for potential rules violations.
Last May, the WNBA penalized the Aces by making them forfeit a 2025 first-round draft pick and instituting a two-game suspension for head coach Becky Hammon after finding the team had violated league rules during contract negotiations with former Aces player Dearica Hamby.
The Aces opened the 2024 season Tuesday with an 89-80 home win over the Phoenix Mercury.
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