WNBA to begin full
The WNBA plans to commit $50 million over the next two years to provide full-time charter flight service for its teams during the season, the league’s commissioner announced Tuesday in a move that addresses years of player safety concerns.
“We intend to fund a full-time charter for this season,” commissioner Cathy Engelbert said in a meeting with sports editors.
She said the league will launch the program “as soon as we can get planes in places.”
Engelbert said the program will cost the league around $25 million per year for the next two seasons.
The WNBA already had announced at its draft last month plans to once again pay for charter flights for the entire playoffs as well as for back-to-back games during the upcoming season that require air travel.
The league’s schedule features more back-to-back sets this season with the WNBA taking a long break for the Olympics in late July and early August. The league spent $4 million on charters in 2023.