Aces Governor Mark Davis Says Team Did 'Nothing Wrong' Amid WNBA Investigation

Las Vegas Aces team governor Mark Davis believes the organization will be cleared amid a WNBA investigation into a sponsorship deal by the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority.

"There was absolutely nothing done wrong," Davis told CBS Sports' Jonathan Jones. "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."

The LVCVA announced last Friday they were sponsoring every Aces player and paying them $100,000 apiece.

What has transpired since can arguably be chalked up to a case of poor phrasing.

"The offer's really simple," LVCVA CEO and president Steve Hill said to players in the locker room. "We want you to just play, we want you to keep repping Las Vegas, and if you get a three-peat, that'll be icing on the cake."

Those comments almost give the impression the Aces players were basically getting an extra $100,000 for stepping onto the court every game. Combine that with the fact the team had to forfeit its 2025 first-round pick in part for offering impermissible benefits, and the announcement video was bound to raise some initial suspicion.

Subsequent reporting on the sponsorship deal provided a much more detailed picture.

According to Callie Lawson-Freeman of the Las Vegas Review-Journal, the LVCVA contacted each player's agent individually rather than going through the Aces. Lawson-Freeman reported the players are required to do promotional work for the city as well, which includes "mutually agreeable opportunities for appearances on Las Vegas' behalf."

That's far different than what was presented in the video released by the tourism authority.

And to Davis' point, the WNBA's inquiry being termed as an "investigation" could for some imply a level of guilt or wrongdoing from the outset. In reality, the league may simply be verifying that everything is on the up and up in what Hill himself described as a "historic" situation that's unprecedented in the WNBA.

Defector's Maitreyi Anantharaman also posited the league could press the fact a flat $100,000 for every player doesn't reflect how bigger stars such as A'ja Wilson, Kelsey Plum and Chelsea Gray typically have a higher valuation than their teammates for endorsement deals.

Based on the available evidence, the Aces did nothing that would violate the WNBA's collective bargaining agreement. What this could all accomplish is amending the CBA to better specify how team-wide sponsorships like this are structured.