WNBA clears charter flights for all games, Commissioner Cathy Engelbert says

New York Liberty coach Sandy Brondello and her star players Breanna Stewart and Jonquel Jones were doing a WNBA pre-season Zoom meeting with national media when word started trickling out about the league working on a deal to bring charter travel to the league this year.

Smiles. High fives all around.

“It’s amazing, if it’s true,” Jones said.

It is. WNBA Commissioner Cathy Engelbert told a gathering of sports editors on Tuesday in New York that the league plans to commit $50 million over the next two years to provide full-time charter flight service for all 12 of its teams during the season, which starts on Tuesday. It will happen as quickly as the league can, logistically, get the plan — and the planes — in place.

This is the culmination of a movement pushed by the players for some time, and it’s a matter of both security and convenience.

As the league gets more popular and the players become better known, the issue of player security has come to the fore, with the treatment Phoenix center Brittney Griner experienced last season as an example. Griner, who spent almost 10 months in custody in Russia in 2022 was harassed during a trip to Dallas last season.

But it’s convenience, too. The WNBA is about to play its second 40-game season. With a month-long Olympic break, that means condensed schedules on either side of the Games in Paris.

“It would be really big,” Lynx All-Star Napheesa Collier said. “It’s something we’ve been asking for for years. It can’t be ignored any more.”

“It’s a breath of fresh air,” added Lynx guard Kayla McBride. “Knowing we can get on a plane, get your proper recovery. It’s important, especially this year.”

This is not a new issue. As Engelbert said it’s something the league has been “chipping away’' at for years. But the league needed a viable model to pay for it before agreeing to charter flights for every game, something the coming media rights deal could provide.

It might not happen right away, considering the WNBA’s regular season starts next week. Engelbert said it could take some weeks, perhaps a month. But it appears to be coming.

“Everyone’s immediate response is, ‘Great!’ " Las Vegas coach Becky Hammon said.

Added Aces forward A’ja Wilson: “I’m just happy it’s finally here. We were all tired of waiting for it.”

The move comes as the league is experiencing unprecedented interest, much of it fueled by a high-profile rookie class that includes Caitlin Clark and Angel Reese. The amount of fan interest has translated into challenges at airports; all 12 teams are traveling with their own security this season.

“I’m happy that something catapulted this change,” Wilson said. “I’m happy we got to this point.”