Posts tagged WNBA
NFLPA Investigating Own Role in OneTeam Amid Corruption Allegations
January 22, 2025 // The letter asks the recipients to save all documents related to OneTeam and lists two NFLPA executives for contact: assistant general counsel Heather McGee and general counsel Tom DePaso. A source said the NFLPA also hired Linklaters partner Richard Smith for the investigation. Smith has handled several high-profile investigations for the football union, including allegations brought by Colin Kaepernick; the Ray Rice domestic violence episode; the Miami Dolphins’ bullying investigation; and the New Orleans Saints’ “Bountygate” scandal. Smith did not reply for comment. The NFLPA, MLBPA, and RedBird Capital created OneTeam in 2019 to represent athletes and their lucrative group licensing deals. In 2022 RedBird sold its stake to a group of equity investors, including HPS Investment Partners and Atlantic Park, in a deal that valued OneTeam at $1.9 billion.
WNBA players union decides to opt out of current collective bargaining agreement, two years before expiration.
October 23, 2024 // The WNBA players union has decided to opt out of the current collective bargaining agreement, two years before its expiration. The league and players union had the option to do so before Nov. 1. The early opt-out marks a crucial juncture for the league. The WNBA signed a historic 11-year media rights deal worth $200 million a year.
WNBA labor strike, alternate league will follow new media rights deal: Bill Simmons
July 29, 2024 // But the WNBA’s portion of that deal, with about $200 million per year — which translates to $2.2 billion out of a $77 billion pie for the NBA — already has some raising their eyebrows. The Ringer’s Bill Simmons is firmly among that crowd, speculating on his podcast that the massive disparity between valuation of the NBA and WNBA will eventually lead to a labor strike, and possibly a competing league forming. “It’s gonna lead to a labor strike is what’s gonna happen,” Simmons said after his guest, The Atlantic’s Derek Thompson, pointed out that average WNBA viewership is not far off NBA numbers — and in the case of games between Caitlin Clark and Angel Reese, eclipses it. “That’s where we’re headed in the next two years. The thing that I think is gonna happen is I think somebody is gonna try to form an alternate league. Cause it’s not like all of these WNBA players are tied to their teams forever.”
PLAYERS’ ASSOCIATIONS WARN SPORTS ILLUSTRATED ON UNION BUSTING
March 7, 2024 // The AFL-CIO Sports Council, which launched in 2022 to assist athletes in unionizing, released the statement Monday. The warning doesn’t mention any specific consequence that could arise. However, players in those leagues could refuse to conduct interviews with SI writers and podcasters, decline to attend SI parties and otherwise boycott creation of SI content. For the storied publication, which for decades influenced the sports industry like no other, a loss of access to players and their unions would make reporting more difficult, and it would both diminish and delegitimize the SI brand.