LVCVA contracts detail how Aces’ sponsorships will work

Five Aces players have signed sponsorship terms with the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority, according to contracts obtained by the Las Vegas Review-Journal on Tuesday.

The contracts outline a pay structure of $100,000 per year for two years, to be paid out in equal monthly installments during the WNBA season. That would have initially amounted to a total commitment of $2.4 million, but the Aces’ roster has since gone through a multitude of changes as it settled to its current 11 players.

LVCVA President and CEO Steve Hill initially said the Aces just needed to “play and represent Las Vegas” to receive the funds. He has been clarifying that the deal would require marketing appearances and obligations ever since, as the WNBA confirmed it was investigating the Aces, presumably on suspicion of salary cap circumvention.

The league hired outside legal counsel to conduct the investigation last month and has declined to comment on the proceedings.

Despite the probe, Hill said he is excited to proceed with something more than the initial viral announcement.

“It takes awhile, once you come out of the concept, to get through all the contracts, particularly when there’s a dozen players involved and a number of different agents,” Hill said Tuesday. “But we’re getting to that point that we can really kick this off, and that’s gonna be a lot of fun.”

Promotion ideas

Here’s the information included in the contracts:

Under the deliverables section of the legal documents, Aces players are mandated to “participate in a minimum of three events” during each year of the deal. One of those appearances will be a public ceremonial signing event.

The agreements were made effective May 17, the day the LVCVA’s social media video announcing the sponsorship offers was recorded and published. The video has garnered more than 2 million views on X, and the authority reserves the right to use it “for any purpose” going forward.

The LVCVA describes itself in the contracts as a “government agency charged with promoting Las Vegas as a tourism destination.” It’s funded by proceeds from the expansive Las Vegas Convention Center and taxes on hotel rooms.

The LVCVA has a roster of more than 250 influencers that it has paid more than $2.2 million collectively since 2022, and Hill said the authority is approaching the deals similarly. As such, players who have signed the deals have been presented with booklets proposing different marketing opportunities, including free visits to watch the Raiders or the Formula One race in November.

“You want to go to a great dinner, a great show or a great store in an ad, tell us what you want to do,” Hill said. “We’ll make that happen and ask you to be public about the fact you’re doing it.”

Termination and clauses

Hill said earlier this month that some Aces had already started receiving sponsorship payments. According to the contract, the deals “shall terminate immediately without notice” if a player leaves the roster or violates the Aces and WNBA’s rules.

The LVCVA was faced with that issue when the Aces waived rookie guard Dyaisha Fair and Emma Cannon earlier this season in separate roster moves.

The deal also includes a collective bargaining agreement conflict clause, which states that if any details are found to conflict or be “inconsistent” with either the league’s CBA or a player’s contract, they “shall be of no force or effect.”

Hill maintained that it’s nothing more than a standard severability clause that was included so that the deals could “survive” in the case of the WNBA taking issue with any aspects of the deal.

When asked if players would need to repay the funds in the case of the league taking issue with the deals as a whole, Hill said he “doesn’t really see that as an outcome.”

Who has signed?

Outside of former players Fair and Cannon, five current Aces have signed deals with the LVCVA: Kierstan Bell, Alysha Clark, Megan Gustafson, Tiffany Hayes and Kiah Stokes.

The Aces’ “Core Four” of A’ja Wilson, Chelsey Gray, Kelsey Plum and Jackie Young have not come to terms with the authority. Neither have Sydney Colson and rookie Kate Martin. None of their agents responded to a request for comment.

While Hill isn’t directly involved in the authority’s conversations with player agents, he doesn’t view the lack of signatures as a hesitance to proceed. He noted that the players are “very busy,” as six members of the team, including the entire “Core Four,” are playing in the Paris Olympics.

Even though the Olympic break marks the halfway point of the WNBA campaign, Hill said he isn’t worried that players have yet to sign.

“The payments are tied to the season simply because they need to be a part of the Aces in order to participate and make it make sense for us,” Hill said. “The idea is for these ladies to have the opportunity to stay in Vegas (in the offseason) if they want to. And by doing so, continue to be able to rep Vegas while they’re here.”

Contact reporter Callie Lawson-Freeman at clawsonfreeman@reviewjournal.com. Follow @CallieJLaw on X.