As charter flights continue to be a hot-button topic in the WNBA, commissioner Cathy Engelbert is stepping on the brake pedal.
Breanna Stewart is reported to have made charter flights a big issue in free agency, including rallying support from other WNBA players and NBA players alike. Both Ja Morant and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar voiced their support, as well as WNBPA president Nneka Ogwumike.
On Friday, Engelbert spoke with ESPN to talk about the logistics of chartering flights for the entire league. She said she estimates that to charter flights for the entirety of the season, including the playoffs, would cost around $25 million.
“And the thing some people are missing is that this isn’t a one-year funding,” Engelbert told ESPN. “This is something you’ve got to fund — I want to say in perpetuity — but let’s say you have to make sure you have a business model to fund it for at least a decade.
“So even if you brought a sponsor in to fund it one year … sponsors can come and go. So you’ve got to make sure you have an economic model that is feasible to fund it long-term.”
She added that the league has been open to sponsorship deals that could fund charter flights for a long period of time. But she also has been…
