LAS VEGAS — Las Vegas tourism chief Steve Hill said he will interview Tuesday with the lead investigator who is examining whether WNBA rules were broken when sponsorship deals were offered last month to Las Vegas Aces players.
Hill announced to the players on May 18 they would each receive a $100,000 sponsorship each of the next two years from the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority. The WNBA hired a law firm, Kobre & Kim, to investigate whether the league’s salary-cap rules were circumvented. Founding partner Steven Kobre heads the investigation.
The sponsorship money is more than the average annual value of five Aces players contracts, according to Spotrac.
Hill, CEO and President of the LVCVA, said Monday the authority did everything according to the WNBA’s policies, including working independently of the Aces to arrange the sponsorship agreements. He said “a handful of” contract drafts sent to player agents have been signed.
“We made a commitment to the players and we’re going to follow through on that,” Hill said. “We have not done anything wrong. (The players) have every right to sign a sponsorship agreement. This is a legitimate sponsorship agreement. … We’ve taped all the players and broadcast their image, so we…
