Las Vegas Aces Re-Sign Superstar Wilson As WNBA Looks To Grow With $75 Million In Capital
By Cassandra Cousineau of LVSportsBiz.com
From the moment she was drafted first overall in 2018, A’Ja Wilson has been a building block for the Las Vegas Aces.
Wilson was the WNBA Rookie Of The Year and league MVP in 2020, while also immortalized on her University of South Carolina campus with a statue that is prominently displayed.
Now, the face of the Las Vegas Aces franchise has re-upped her contract with the expressed goal to secure championship hardware that has eluded her team in each of the previous three seasons.
The 25-year-old has signed on with Aces for the next two years and will reportedly make $196,267 for the 2022 season, and $202,155 in 2023.
“Vegas has become my second home, a place that I love,” Wilson said.
The admiration river runs deep between Wilson, Aces owner Mark Davis, team President Nikki Fargas, and new Aces coach Becky Hammon.
“A’ja is a generational talent both on and off the court, and I’m excited to have her back in the fold with the Aces,” Hammon said. “She has been the leader of this team, and an integral part of the Las Vegas community since the day she was drafted, and I know our fans are ecstatic to once again have her at the forefront of our pursuit of a WNBA Championship.”
If Wilson is central to the Aces being the 2022 last team standing in the WNBA, Las Vegas could also be pivotal to the league’s overall plan to grow its base domestically and broach global markets.
WNBA Commissioner Cathy Engelbert announced Thursday the closing on a new $75 million capital raise for the league. Engelbert said the money will be used for the league’s main priority areas including player marketing, fan engagement, brand elevation, human capital and consumer touchpoints.
Nike deepened its equity investment in the league with this round of fundraising. Wilson signed a marketing deal with the sneaker giant in 2018. “As a Nike athlete, I’m so proud to see the company’s expanded investment in the WNBA. It isn’t just about more support for players today, it also means more opportunity than ever to inspire young girls to dream big.”
With the support of NIKE, Wilson, and its other marketable stars, WNBA is taking a big swing with the new capital boost and looking to globalize its brand.
“We have so much opportunity to globalize the game, expansion,” said Engelbert, who has helmed the WNBA since July 2019. “It’s really a lot of growth initiatives, marketing our stars into household names both here in the U.S. and globally.”
Among a long list of other initial investors in this capital raise are current WNBA and NBA team owners, former Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, former WNBA player Swin Cash, and former NBA players Baron Davis and Pau Gasol. Here’s a complete list.
The league’s grandiose global plans make sense at the top level. When it comes down to what the Aces need to accomplish in Las Vegas, it’s fairly simple for Fargas, the team president.
“The expectations that these young ladies have going into the 2022 season is really how to become one of those programs that maintain consistency,” Fargas said. “We’ve done that by getting close, but now we’re wanting to take the next step.”
Davis, the Aces/Raiders owner, has a lifetime of experience building a global brand. When it comes to his WNBA team, he’s thinking more local—- as in Las Vegas local.
“We know how valuable being on the global market is and being visible in that sense. But, right now, what we’re doing is we’re building our local market. We’re building this team to be from Las Vegas out and that’s where we plan to put all our resources right now and building our players up in this community,” Davis said.
“I think A’ja is one of the people when we talk about just win, she wins on and off the court. That’s really what’s important to us, really making a difference in the local market,” he said. “If the league wants to publicize us on a global market that’s great. Right now we want to take care of Las Vegas.”
Wilson understands her 2022 mission in alignment with the bigger picture of her marketing power at this time. “The league is opening where people are wanting to know us as W players. I’m glad to stir the pot a little bit. I’m glad we’re getting the recognition we need.”
