Potential violations of the WNBA salary cap prompted the league to investigate the Las Vegas Aces, The Next reported Wednesday.
According to the report, the Aces allegedly made “under-the-table-payment offers to both current players and free agents the team has pursued.”
The Next, a website focused on coverage of women’s basketball, said nine league sources confirmed their reporting.
Officials from neither the Aces, who won the 2022 WNBA championship, nor the WNBA responded to The Next’s request for comment.
The Aces recently signed free agents Candace Parker and Alysha Clark for “significantly” less money than they made with their previous teams, per the report.
Richard Cohen of Her Hoops Stats reported Parker’s deal was a one-year, $100,000 pact, the same figures published by salary database Spotrac. Parker’s previous deal with the Chicago Sky paid her $192,500 on average for two seasons.
The Next reported the impropriety in courting players involved an Aces official contacting the agent of a player – either a free agent or a rostered player negotiating an extension — to let the agent know of a pending call with an offer of work from a company. The work, however, would be “negligible.”
The allegations, if true, would violate the WNBA’s salary cap and is highlighted as prohibited under terms of the collective bargaining agreement.
The Aces are owned by Mark Davis, the owner of the Las Vegas Raiders.
–Field Level Media