After years of waiting, WNBA players will finally get what they deserve.
Commissioner Cathy Engelbert announced plans to start full-time charter flights for all teams beginning this season.
“We intend to fund a full-time charter for this season,” Engelbert said Tuesday in a meeting with sports editors in New York.
Engelbert said the WNBA will launch the full-time program “as soon as we can get planes in places.”
“It’s fantastic news,” Liberty head coach Sandy Brondello said before Tuesday’s preseason matchup against the Chicago Sky. The head coach added “Credit to the WNBA. They’ve listened. They’ve found ways to make it happen.”
The commissioner said the program will cost around $25 million per year for the next two seasons.
Moments before last month’s draft, Engelbert announced plans to provide charter flights throughout the postseason and for the Commissioner’s Cup. She added charter flights will also be provided to teams traveling on back-to-backs, with more of those games being on schedule due to this summer’s Olympic break.
That is no longer the case, however, with the league taking action as the spotlight on the WNBA grows larger. For years, players voiced their desire for the program, citing safety and better player experience as reasons for a change.
“Having charter flights [are] gonna help,” Brondello said. “We can fly home straight after a game or we can fly to our next destination. That allows more recovery. I think the players were really excited to hear that news today.”
In 2022, the Liberty were fined a league-record $500,000 for providing charter flights through the second half of the 2021 season. The WNBA considered terminating the franchise for violating the league’s CBA and representing a competitive advantage over other teams.
