It was a rough week for professional male athletes, but an A+ one for me, someone who loves to see men absolutely schooled in sports. First up, these NFL stars got completely smoked in flag football in front of a packed celeb crowd. The dramatics even trickled down to wrestling, when this kid did what I've secretly always wanted to do to an opponent. (Don’t lie — you have too.) Thankfully, women athletes showed up to remind me why I love them so much. Team USA's Laila Edwards and her Wisconsin teammates took home yet another top honor just weeks after their Olympic victory. And WNBA star Sabrina Ionescu pulled off a move that anyone who’s ever been to a tailgate will recognize.Over on the pitch, the NWSL set a brand new record. Now that baseball is back, I'm ready to spiral over all the new ballpark menus. (Seriously, how do you eat this?) I’d do anything to rate them with Aryna Sabalenka after her iconic reaction to this $100 concession. Before I get hangry, let's get to the rest of the sports stories...
— Mallory Simon / Writer / New York, New York
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This Is What a Real W Looks Like
What's going on: WNBA players just took home a prize more valuable than a league championship: a contract that begins to take their worth seriously. Veteran superstars can now sign deals starting at $1.4 million and the projected average sits just under $600K. For context, four-time MVP A'ja Wilson earned a roughly $200K salary last season. A new expected supermax deal would push that to $1.4 million per year. That’s around a 500% raise. The next MVP bonus goes from just over $15K to $60K too. The full contract goes beyond the paycheck and includes charter flights, housing for all players until 2029, and salary cap exception for injured and pregnant players. The league now requires a pregnant player's consent before any trade. Why? Because of this drama. Yes, really.
Our take: The deal is transformational — but we’d also call it a correction. Retired WNBA legend Diana Taurasi called it “life-changing” for players. She once said that the WNBA was for love, but if players wanted to make money, they had to go to Europe (others have compared it to a summer job). Cameron Brink said the private chef she hired to fuel her performance cost more than what she earned in the WNBA. This deal will likely change that. Some, like the StudBudz, could become be the first millionaires in their families — the contract offers players (and their loved ones) a path toward generational wealth. But there’s room for more. LeBron James's son — who didn’t see regular play — will still outearn A’ja Wilson’s expected max. So while we applaud this massive adjustment, this isn't the finish line — just the first real marker on the way there.
