February 2, 2022

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The Washington Football Team officially became the Commanders, 18 months since moving on from their original name.

The WNBA Can’t Ignore Salary Issues

Jeff Bottari-NBAE via Las Vegas Aces/Design: John Regula

The WNBA has taken several big steps forward in the last year, but its most recent achievement is highlighting the older, more contentious issue of players’ wages — and making it more urgent than ever.

Former Spurs assistant Becky Hammon will earn $1 million per season as the Las Vegas Aces’ new head coach — making her the highest-paid HC in league history.

But on Tuesday, free agent Liz Cambage, who played for Las Vegas in 2019 and 2021 — pointed out [[link removed]] that Hammon’s salary is four times the supermax for players.

Hammon’s salary approaches the total cap for any one team ($1.4 M). By contrast, Seattle Storm superstar Breanna Stewart signed a one-year, $228,000 supermax deal on Tuesday.WNBA coaches’ salaries are not subject to the salary cap; the cap is determined by league revenue, the bulk of which comes from TV deals.ESPN’s $25 million-per-year WNBA contract runs [[link removed]] through the 2022 season. By contrast, the NBA makes $2.6 billion per season through its media deals.

This is nothing new. The issue of low wages has plagued the WNBA for years — to the point where many players, including legends like Diana Taurasi, have had to supplement their incomes by playing overseas.

Courtney Vandersloot, who just starred in the Sky’s championship run, reportedly [[link removed]] received a “disrespectful offer” from Chicago — and her European team, UMMC Ekaterinburg, may pay her to sit out the next WNBA campaign.

Jimmy G’s Exit Benefits Niners

Kelley L Cox-USA TODAY Sports/Design: John Regula

The relationship between the 49ers and Jimmy Garoppolo will come to an amicable end, even after failing to win a title while he was under center.

The veteran quarterback all but said he’ll be moving on despite the year remaining on his contract, saying Tuesday, “It’s been a hell of a ride” with San Francisco.

It’s a win-win situation: Garoppolo wants to play for another contender, and the 49ers have the financial motivation to accommodate him.

Garoppolo signed a five-year, $137.5 million deal with a then-record yearly average salary of $27.5 million in February of 2018.By dealing him prior to the start of the new league year on March 16, the 49ers would save $25.5 million under the salary cap.The 30-year-old is the 10th-highest-paid player in the NFL.

Garoppolo went 31-14 as a starter and led the Niners to a Super Bowl appearance, but they drafted Trey Lance in last year’s draft.

There will be many suitors for Garoppolo — as many as 10 teams could be looking for a new starter in 2022, including the Steelers, Texans, Broncos, Commanders, and Buccaneers.

“We’ve done right by each other just throughout this whole relationship,” Garoppolo said. “We’ll work it out one way or another.”

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Raptors’ Win-Now Rebuild?

Benny Sieu-USA TODAY Sports/Design: John Regula

The Raptors played the entire 2020-21 season in Tampa Bay, lost six-time All-Star Kyle Lowry last offseason, and are currently playing with no fans due to Ontario’s COVID policy.

In 2018, Toronto had traded franchise face DeMar DeRozan for Kawhi Leonard, who delivered a title — but immediately left for L.A., signaling what many thought would be a long-term rebuild.

Yet, on a three-game win streak following Tuesday’s win over the Heat, Toronto is the East’s 8-seed. Credit is due to president Masai Ujiri.

Rather than reach for another “superstar,” Ujiri has continued to entrust Pascal Siakam (21 PPG) and stick with Fred VanVleet (21.5 PPG), who in Feb. 2021 became the highest-paid undrafted free agent in league history (four years, $85M).They traded Norman Powell for Gary Trent Jr. last season. On Tuesday, Trent Jr. became the fourth player ever to record 30+ points and 5+ threes in five straight games.They signed fourth-overall pick Scottie Barnes for four years, $33 million. He has the third-best odds to win Rookie of the Year (+550*).

Plus, Goran Dragic’s $19.4 million deal expires after this season, which will give the Raptors roughly $18 million in cap space.

It’s no surprise that Ujiri is the mastermind behind it all. The one-time Executive of the Year is paid [[link removed]] an AAV of $15 million — more than nine players on the team’s payroll.

Even if they don’t make a deep playoff run, the organization has managed to balance continued success and roster regeneration.

Making Headlines

Geoff Burke-USA TODAY Sports/Design: John Regula

Soccer: Trinity Rodman signed a four-year deal worth a reported $1.1 million with the Spirit, making the 19-year-old the highest-paid player in NWSL history. The daughter of NBA legend Dennis Rodman was the league’s Rookie of the Year in 2021.

MLB: Negotiations between the league and players association to end the lockout continued, but the sides are still far apart on several key economic issues, which could likely delay the start of spring training, according to multiple reports.

NHL: The Capitals’ Alexander Ovechkin will not participate in the 2022 NHL All-Star Game after testing positive for COVID-19. Also: The Coyotes beat the Avalanche as the biggest underdogs (+425*) since 2006.

NFL: Eagles QB Jalen Hurts will undergo ankle surgery today. He’s expected back on the field for OTAs this spring. In 15 starts, Hurts completed 61.3% of his passes for 3,144 yards and 16 touchdowns.

Today's Action

NHL

07:38 PM

Kings (-130) at Red Wings (+110)

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10:10 PM

Nuggets (+105) at Jazz (-125)

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07:08 PM

Kraken (+180) at Islanders (-210)

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*All times are EST unless otherwise noted.

*Odds/lines subject to change. T&Cs apply. See [[link removed]] for details.

Written by Doug Greenberg [[link removed]], Chris Kuc [[link removed]], Anthony Puccio [[link removed]]

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