WNBA commissioner Cathy Engelbert said the league will let teams use charter flights for travel starting this season.
Adam Hunger/AP
A new era in the WNBA is here.
If it weren’t already apparent by the attention the 2024 rookie class has drawn, it became impossible to ignore when commissioner Cathy Engelbert confirmed Tuesday that the league would adopt charter travel.
‘‘We intend to fund a full-time charter for this season,’’ Engelbert said in a meeting with APSE editors.
The news comes after years of players advocating for improved travel conditions. On social media, players have documented everything from canceled flights forcing them to sleep overnight at airports to squeezing their above-average frames into uncomfortable seats.
The WNBA has made incremental improvements to travel in the last few years, including providing charter flights for the playoffs. Engelbert always had maintained, however, that the league wouldn’t adopt charter travel unless it was fiscally responsible.
A combination of factors has contributed to that now being the case, starting with an influx of interest that has contributed to business growth. Also on the horizon is a new media-rights deal, which is expected to bring a significant increase over the current deal.
Engelbert said in a recent interview with CNBC that she expects the league to double its current media-rights fees, which reportedly are $60 million a year.
Before the Chicago Sky’s preseason game Tuesday against the Liberty, players still were wondering whether the news was ‘‘official.’’
The answer is no. The WNBA isn’t expected to release an official statement about implementing charter travel until Wednesday at the earliest. But charter travel will begin ‘‘as soon as we can get planes in place,’’ Engelbert said.
The initiative reportedly will cost the league $25 million per year over the next two seasons.
Recovery tops the list of player experiences that will be improved by the implementation of charter flights.
‘‘Usually, you don’t [take ice baths and certain recovery steps after games],’’ two-time league MVP Breanna Stewart told the Sun-Times. ‘‘If you’re on a commercial flight, you have to get out of there as soon as possible. Now we’ll have a plane revolving around us.’’
‘‘Being able to get out of cities quickly will be really important,’’ Sky center Elizabeth Williams said. ‘‘Especially in an Olympic year with 40 games. It’s going to make a big difference.’’
Overall, the feeling from players and coaches is that the investment by the league will benefit the business because it will lead to a better product on the court.
‘‘It’s fantastic news,’’ Liberty coach Sandy Brondello said. ‘‘Credit to the WNBA. They’ve listened. They’ve found ways to make it happen. We talk about the product is so good, having charter flights is going to help.’’
Sky coach Teresa Weatherspoon didn’t want to comment, saying: ‘‘It’s a [collective-bargaining] thing. I definitely can’t comment.’’
Charter flights all but became a necessity with the attention the 2024 rookie class has received. A recent video of the Fever, specifically of 2023 Rookie of the Year Aliyah Boston and No. 1 overall draft pick Caitlin Clark, sparked fan concern on social media regarding player safety in the airport. But that concern has been mounting for years.
Last year, the Mercury were vocal about their airport concerns. They dealt with at least one instance of confrontation in which they called an individual’s actions ‘‘inappropriate and unfortunate.’’
Teams had no prior knowledge of the impending change early Tuesday according to multiple league sources. Most players learned of the news on social media.
And while the rookie class is receiving much-deserved credit for bringing added eyes, attention and scrutiny to the WNBA’s inadequacies, it’s the veterans who have voiced concerns for years.
Stewart called for the need for charter travel during her free agency in 2023, and Liberty teammate Jonquel Jones also has been vocal about the topic through the years.
‘‘Sometimes things can seem like they’re well-known because you live it every day,’’ Jones said. ‘‘You don’t realize that without you speaking up, people don’t really realize what’s going on behind the scenes or what WNBA players are experiencing.’’