WNBA to Interview Las Vegas Tourism Leader Tuesday About Aces Player Sponsorship Offer

LAS VEGAS — Las Vegas tourism chief Steve Hill said he will speak Tuesday with the lead investigator looking into whether WNBA rules were broken when sponsorship deals were proposed last month to Las Vegas Aces players.

Hill announced to the players on May 18 that they would each receive sponsorship of $100,000 each over the next two years from the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority. The WNBA has hired a law firm, Kobre & Kim, to investigate whether the league’s salary cap rules were circumvented. Founding partner Steven Kobre is leading the investigation.

The sponsorship money is more than the average annual contract value of five Aces players, according to Spotrac.

Hill, CEO and president of the LVCVA, said Monday that the authority does everything in accordance with WNBA policies, including working independently of the Aces to complete sponsorship deals. He said “a handful” of draft contracts sent to player agents had been signed.

“We made a commitment to the players and we’re going to deliver on it,” Hill said. “We didn’t do anything wrong. (The players) have every right to sign a sponsorship agreement. This is a legitimate sponsorship deal. … We recorded all the players and broadcast their images, so we owe them that. This is the first result of the agreement, so we are moving forward.

He said officials had alerted the team of its intention to offer player sponsorships, but had not released details.

Before moving forward, Hill said the Aces informed the LVCVA that they would first need to sponsor the team in order to receive the rights to use the club’s logo and other properties in any materials promotional. The LVCVA has similar agreements with the NFL Raiders and NHL Golden Knights, Hill said.

Furthermore, the authority asked the Aces for permission to access the locker rooms to break the news to the players, but no details were provided other than a sponsorship proposal that would be offered. The Aces said they had no knowledge of the details.

Hill said he was not aware of any rules prohibiting the LVCVA from working with the two-time defending champion Aces to arrange the announcement that was videotaped and promoted by the authority.

“It’s just a matter of logistics,” Hill said.

Hill said that under the terms, each player would receive $25,000 per month and players released or added to the roster would receive prorated money. Each sponsorship agreement includes four elements: locker room video as a promotional tool, team photo, public appearances and use of name, image and likeness.

“We are working on this with each of the officers,” Hill said.

This isn’t the first time the WNBA has investigated the Aces.

Last year, the WNBA suspended coach Becky Hammon for two games and stripped the Aces’ 2025 first-round pick because it determined the franchise violated league rules regarding unauthorized benefits for players and workplace policies.

Hill said he did not know the status of the WNBA’s investigation into the sponsorship issue.

“We think it’s a very positive step for the team, the league,” Hill said. “We hope we are raising the bar. We’re hoping that maybe we’re opening some minds to the value that’s been sort of blocked and that we’re trying to unlock with all of these players.

“I completely understand and appreciate the need for the league to ask questions. Really, the only thing I think the league has said is that they’re opening an investigation, which has a pretty worrying tone. I don’t know if they mean it that way or not. I hope not. I think after investigating, they’ll say, “You know, completely follow the rules here and wow, that might be a good thing.” So I hope they accept it.

AP WNBA: https://apnews.com/hub/wnba-basketball