Report: Aces' sponsorship deal under investigation

A sponsorship deal that would include giving each Las Vegas Aces player $100,000 is under investigation, ESPN reported on Saturday.

The sponsorship, announced Friday, comes from the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority and is intended to reward players on the two-time champion Aces.

"The offer is really simple: We want you to just play, keep repping Las Vegas and if you get a three-peat, that would be icing on the cake," Steve Hill said Friday. He is the CEO of the LVCVA.

The investigation comes on the heels of one a year ago into alleged extra benefits granted. Dearica Hamby was traded from the Aces to the Los Angeles Sparks in January 2023 and alleged she was dealt because she was pregnant.

The sponsorship does not violate the league's salary cap rules, although teams that don't match such an arrangement could be at a disadvantage in signing free agents, according to the report.

The $100,000 would be more than the year's salary for six Aces players, according to Spotrac, a sports contracts website.

Among the star players on the Las Vegas roster are two-time MVP A'ja Wilson and fellow All-Stars Kelsey Plum, Chelsea Gray and Jackie Young.

"They're investing in us, and so they put their money where their mouth is," Gray said. "We've done so much for the city and having fun doing it.

"It was a great moment for me and my teammates, of somebody actually putting funds behind, saying that they're supporting and they want to have our back."