When the NIL phenomenon first arrived as a way for college players to finally make money, some kicked around the question of whether boosters of pro teams that don’t really need boosters might try to do the same thing.
It’s potentially happening for the WNBA’s Las Vegas Aces. Via Sports Business Daily, collecting items from the Las Vegas Review-Journal and USA Today, the WNBA is opening an investigation into whether $100,000 sponsorship deals with the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority for each of the Aces’ 12 players circumvent the salary cap.
LVCVA CEO Steve Hill said they did the agreements without knowledge of the team. The players signed contracts to make appearances on behalf of Las Vegas. They also will be given Las Vegas-centric gear to promote the city.
It still feels like a way to violate the WNBA team-by-team salary cap, especially since the six-figure payment exceeds the salaries of half of the team’s players.
The broader question is whether something like this could happen in other sports with a salary cap. What’s to stop someone who is both really rich and wants to help his favorite team from funneling a bunch of cash to key players on a given team? Or to all of them?
It sounds stupid on the surface, but that’s exactly what happens and plenty of college programs. Local bigwigs who want to play the role of big shot plunk down big money that they can support the program.
Really, how would the NFL stop it from happening? If a guy who owns a bunch of car dealerships wants to give key players a shitload of money in return for, say, wearing a baseball cap with the logo on it while arriving at the stadium, that’s free enterprise.
It’s sort of amazing it hasn’t happened yet. The situation with the Aces could give folks who want to tip the scales for their favorite NFL teams an idea.
And with Mark Davis (and Tom Brady) owning the Aces and (whenever Brady is approved) the Raiders, maybe they’ll be the first to do it.
Free advice, Raiders players? Don’t take crypto from any of Brady’s friends.
