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, commissioner Cathy Engelbert announced Tuesday in a move that addresses years of player safety concerns.
Engelbert said in a meeting with sports editors that the league will launch a charter program “as soon as we can get planes in places.” She said it’s projected to cost around $25 million per year for the next two seasons.
That means no more long security lines, bodyguards in public spaces, cramped legroom or layovers for the professional athletes who have been lobbying for better travel long before Caitlin Clark‘s celebrity brought newfound interest to the league.
Women’s National Basketball Players Association president Nneka Ogwumike called the move “transformational” and credited the collaboration between the WNBPA and the league.
“Our league is growing, the demand for women’s basketball is growing,” Ogwumike said. “That means more eyes on us, which is what we want, but that means more protection from the organization that we play for, the whole W that we play for.
“Chartering flights not only is a safety measure, the biggest thing, and then obviously what it means to be able to play a game and go home and rest and…
