NASHVILLE -- The WNBA has yet to speak with Las Vegas Aces owner Mark Davis regarding its most recent investigation into his team, but he's ready to talk when the league is.
One day after the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority announced an unprecedented $1.2 million sponsorship of the dozen Aces, the WNBA announced it was opening an investigation into the deal.
Davis told CBS Sports on Wednesday the league will find "absolutely nothing" wrong with the arrangement.
"There was absolutely nothing done wrong," Davis said at the conclusion of the NFL league meetings, where he was also representing his Las Vegas Raiders. "And I think it's sad that they used the word investigation instead of something a little softer to say, 'Hey we might look into it' or whatever. But they're going to find there's nothing wrong."
Last week, the LVCVA announced the $100,000-per-player sponsorship deal that the group says was brokered with each player and their agent individually. WNBA rules prohibit teams from facilitating such deals so as to not violate the league's collective bargaining agreement.
The WNBA has a hard salary cap of $1.4 million. And competitive equity questions have been raised about paying players outside of their contracts in certain markets -- or with certain team owners -- that have deeper pockets than some rivals.
Davis said his top goal when he bought the Aces in 2021 was to get the players paid more money. He hired Becky Hammon as the head coach, marking the first time a WNBA coach made at least $1 million. The Aces have won consecutive WNBA titles and are currently 2-1 in the young season.
"I'm just really proud of (the LVCVA) for doing it and recognizing the value that the women bring to the community," Davis said. "If in fact we can get them hundreds of thousands of dollars or get into the millions of dollars for all the players, they can stay in the community. They don't have to go overseas to play. They'll have the resources to stay to work in the community, work with young kids and all of that. And that's the vision I have for growing the league. Obviously, there are ways that we can't compensate them, but there's also third parties that can."
Davis said the WNBA using the word investigation could have a chilling effect on other potential sponsors both in Las Vegas and other markets.
"When you say 'investigation,' other organizations that are in our community might say, 'Hey, we may want to sit back and wait. Maybe this is illegal' or this or that," Davis said. "And I think that's the wrong approach.
"Again, the word investigation is not good. It should have been, 'This is great. Let's see more of these come forward and do this.'"
Davis also sees a potential double standard within the WNBA. He said it's against WNBA rules for Davis' Raiders to sponsor the Aces or the players. But he noted that Nike, which is an equity investor in the league, can sponsor players -- including one in particular.
"Nike is an owner of the WNBA and they're allowed to sponsor Caitlin Clark for $28 million on one player. And nobody's complaining or investigating," Davis said. "And I think it's great that Nike's doing that. But let's give credit to where credit's due: Las Vegas Convention Authority is stepping up and recognizing these women."
