The WNBA is at present in labor negotiations with its gamers. The most important difficulty on the desk is agreeing on wage. Diana Taurasi, one of many largest WNBA stars ever, had some alternative phrases earlier this 12 months about how the league pays it is gamers. The league’s supermax final 12 months was $249,244, and although gamers have requested about $1 million (or extra) salaries, the WNBA up to now has not relented. It is prime proposal has maxed out at $850,000, with a veteran minimal round $300,000.
Because of this, a number of WNBA gamers have additionally joined a brand new worldwide league merely referred to as “Mission B.” The plan for the league is to have 5-on-5 ladies’s and males’s tournaments from November to April, they usually’re providing attractive offers to gamers to hitch.
To this point, the gamers are receiving fairness within the league, plus annual salaries value greater than $2 million—that is almost ten instances as a lot because the WNBA’s present supermax. For gamers signing multi-year offers, Mission B contracts are typically topping eight figures.
Sophie Cunningham (L) and Kelsey Mitchell (C) are two of the WNBA gamers dedicated to the brand new Mission B league. (Ron Jenkins/Getty Photographs)
Indiana Fever guard Sophie Cunningham is the most recent participant to hitch the Mission B roster. She’s the ninth participant to publicly announce her participation. There are some large WNBA stars concerned with the league, too, together with Nneka Ogwumike, Alyssa Thomas, Jonquel Jones, and Cunningham’s teammate Kelsey Mitchell. Different present and former WNBA gamers headed to Mission B embody Kamilla Cardoso, Li Meng, Jewell Lloyd, and Janelle Salaun.
Ogwumike is the present president of the gamers union and a former MVP, successful one with the Los Angeles Sparks in 2016. She’s often among the many prime gamers within the league. Jones received MVP with the Connecticut Solar in 2021, whereas Thomas and Mitchell each completed within the prime 5 in MVP voting this previous season.
Cunningham tore her MCL in August and missed the rest of the season, however Mission B remains to be excited to have her onboard.
It isn’t fully clear how a lot cash Mission B has raised—and the place that cash has come from. Mission B founder Grady Burnett instructed Entrance Workplace Sports activities that Saudi Arabia hasn’t contributed any cash, regardless of claims on the contrary from the nation’s wealth fund. Singapore’s sovereign wealth fund has additionally expressed involvement with the league.
Saudi Arabia’s Public Funding Fund (PIF) has given giant quantities of money to quite a few athletes throughout completely different sports activities. Most notably, the LIV Golf league lured a number of gamers away from the PGA Tour with staggering cash presents. Burnett stated, “we don’t have any {dollars} coming from” the PIF. Nonetheless, Sela, a subsidiary of the PIF, is an occasion accomplice of Mission B, so the league pays cash to that firm.
We do know a number of sports activities stars are additionally buyers in Mission B, together with Candace Parker, Steve Younger, Novak Djokovic, and Sloane Stephens. Will the league rival the WNBA? That continues to be to be seen, although Mission B is definitely giving the incumbent a run for its cash.
