Posted date: May 18, 2024, 05:00.
Last updated: May 18, 2024 05:00.
The Las Vegas Tourism Authority (LVCVA) will award $100,000 to all 12 players on the Las Vegas Aces WNBA team. They will receive the money unconditionally in addition to their regular salaries for this season and 2025.
In a still from a video posted by the LVVCA on Twitter on Friday, president Steve Hill (left) surprised the Aces by breaking the news at a team meeting. (Image: Twitter/X)
“Today we are doing something new, something no one has done before,” LVCVA President and CEO Steve Hill said in a video posted to Twitter by his agency on Friday. I want to do what I want,” he said. “We want to recognize you individually. We want to put money in your pocket.”
The news comes a week after the two-time defending champions, who defeated the New York Liberty in October in the 2023 WNBA Finals, were honored by President Biden at the White House.
mixed reaction
Reactions to this news have been mixed. Some see the LVCVA gift as a way to equalize the pay gap between men’s and women’s sports.
“Wow!” tweeted the Women’s Hoop Network. “Investment in women. Investment in community. Huge!!”
Others see it as a loophole in the WNBA’s salary cap, a way to keep championship teams intact against rival teams poaching their best players.
The team, owned by billionaire Mark Davis, who also owns the Raiders, paid the championship core $200,000 in 2024 salaries to Kelsey Plum and A’ja Wilson and $196,267 to Chelsea Gray. , Jackie Young received $169,950 and Alisha Clark received $110,000. , according to a report in the New York Times.
Six of the aces don’t even make a $100,000 salary, the Times reported.
Foul ball?
The LVCVA believes the sponsorship does not violate the league’s salary cap of $1.43 million per team because the tourism committee has not coordinated with the clubs. Instead, he secretly worked with each player’s agent to structure a name, image and likeness agreement similar to that between third parties and college athletes.
But that sponsorship accomplishes the same goal as illegal salary gouging, and is likely to draw an uproar from rival teams whose cities don’t have such cash-draining tourist boards.
The news has already sparked outrage from Las Vega residents, who point out that the cash comes from the revenue the LVCVA receives from hotel occupancy taxes.
“This is completely ridiculous,” tweeted @TomD80106675. “Mark Davis, he’s worth about $2.3 billion and has the ability to give each player $100,000…but no, let’s use tax dollars.”
