WEBVTT - Tamper Bay, U.S.A. with Big Citrus 0:00:00.760 --> 0:00:02.880 Welcome to good Game with Sarah Spain where we're not 0:00:03.080 --> 0:00:07.920 calling soccer superstar Lynn Williams, Lynn Biandolo. What we went 0:00:08.000 --> 0:00:10.639 over this no new names, We're not going to know 0:00:10.760 --> 0:00:12.720 them and we're not going to use them for like 0:00:12.800 --> 0:00:15.280 at least a year too. Many of you soccer girl 0:00:15.320 --> 0:00:17.239 who's got hitched this offseason? How are we supposed to 0:00:17.320 --> 0:00:21.360 keep up? Can't do it? Won't do it. Also, honestly, 0:00:21.400 --> 0:00:24.560 fuck the patriarchy, keep your own names. It's Friday, January 0:00:24.600 --> 0:00:26.759 twenty fourth, and on today's show, we'll be talking Tampa 0:00:26.800 --> 0:00:29.440 Bay and how WNBA free agency might be affected by 0:00:29.440 --> 0:00:32.040 all the unrivaled players hanging down in Florida. Plus the 0:00:32.120 --> 0:00:35.480 latest in a wild college hoops season, transfer fees explained, 0:00:35.560 --> 0:00:38.479 and some new research that's no surprise to us, but 0:00:38.520 --> 0:00:41.200 that doesn't make it any less infuriating. It's all coming 0:00:41.280 --> 0:00:58.080 up right after this Happy Friday slices. Here's what you 0:00:58.120 --> 0:01:02.800 need to know today in hockey news. Huge congrats to 0:01:02.840 --> 0:01:06.600 Northeastern University, winners of the forty sixth Women's bean Pot. 0:01:06.840 --> 0:01:09.559 The Huskies down to Boston University for nothing in front 0:01:09.560 --> 0:01:12.720 of thirteen two hundred and seventy nine people at TD Garden. 0:01:13.000 --> 0:01:15.160 That's good for the fifth biggest turnout in D one 0:01:15.200 --> 0:01:19.360 women's college hockey history. Freshman goalie Lisa Jansen was named MVP, 0:01:19.640 --> 0:01:23.280 registering thirty saves in the championship game. The victory marks 0:01:23.280 --> 0:01:26.880 Northeastern's third straight bean Pot title and the twentieth in 0:01:26.959 --> 0:01:30.200 school history. In the on ice postgame interview, Husky's grad 0:01:30.240 --> 0:01:33.600 student defender Lily Jovitch took center stage and shared her 0:01:33.600 --> 0:01:35.560 thoughts with nesson on what we can learn from the 0:01:35.560 --> 0:01:38.120 bean Pot Take a listen. I think it's funny and 0:01:38.120 --> 0:01:39.600 when you add a little bit of money to a 0:01:39.680 --> 0:01:42.200 sport and you give some girls attention what they can 0:01:42.240 --> 0:01:44.200 do with it. I think everyone should take a page 0:01:44.200 --> 0:01:45.160 out of our book. 0:01:44.880 --> 0:01:47.280 And really put some more time and effort into women's everything. 0:01:47.720 --> 0:01:51.960 Yes, Lily, Yes. In college hoops, there's a critical top 0:01:52.000 --> 0:01:54.840 five clash between number five LSU and number two South 0:01:54.840 --> 0:01:57.560 Carolina tonight at Colonial Life Arena, a battle of the 0:01:57.640 --> 0:02:00.800 last two NCAA champs and two of the coaches with 0:02:00.880 --> 0:02:03.600 the most green in the game. That game tips off 0:02:03.600 --> 0:02:05.680 at five pm Eastern. We'll have more on the matchup 0:02:05.760 --> 0:02:08.480 and the fit off between Don Staley and Kim Mulkey 0:02:08.680 --> 0:02:11.720 later in the show. In Pro Hoops, Unrivaled got a 0:02:11.760 --> 0:02:14.280 double header tonight action tipping off at seven to fifteen 0:02:14.320 --> 0:02:19.000 pm Eastern with my Phantom BC facing mist BC. Still 0:02:19.040 --> 0:02:21.560 looking for our first stub. Come on Ghost Gang. Then 0:02:21.639 --> 0:02:23.600 it's a battle of two and OHO teams, the Laces 0:02:23.639 --> 0:02:26.480 BC playing Vinyl BC at eight to fifteen pm Eastern 0:02:26.720 --> 0:02:29.079 or whenever that first game ends. You can catch those 0:02:29.120 --> 0:02:32.400 matchups live on TNT and streaming on Max. There are 0:02:32.400 --> 0:02:35.160 two other Unrivaled games on Saturday as well, so check 0:02:35.160 --> 0:02:37.760 the schedule link in our show notes. Elsewhere in Pro 0:02:37.800 --> 0:02:41.000 Hoops WNBA, Star Sawtu Sobly has inked a deal with 0:02:41.040 --> 0:02:44.240 Adidas after four years with Jordan brand Shall now rep 0:02:44.280 --> 0:02:47.399 the Three Stripes alongside players like Eliah Boston, Chelsea Gray 0:02:47.440 --> 0:02:51.000 and Cheneyan neck Ogoom Mackay some more WNBA. The Atlanta 0:02:51.080 --> 0:02:53.600 Dreams sold out all their season tickets for the second 0:02:53.639 --> 0:02:56.200 season in a row four months before the start of 0:02:56.240 --> 0:02:59.120 the twenty twenty five season. They've also sold out four 0:02:59.160 --> 0:03:01.880 home games so far, two matchups with the Chicago Sky 0:03:02.000 --> 0:03:04.320 and one apiece with the Fever and Aces. If you're 0:03:04.360 --> 0:03:06.360 hoping to catch a game A limited number of single 0:03:06.360 --> 0:03:08.200 game tickets for the rest of the twenty twenty five 0:03:08.280 --> 0:03:11.040 Dream Season will go on sale in February. We'll link 0:03:11.040 --> 0:03:12.560 to where you can get yours in our show notes 0:03:13.040 --> 0:03:16.480 to Tennis. The Australian Open final is set. Top ranked 0:03:16.480 --> 0:03:19.880 Arena Sablenka and world number nineteen Madison Keys will play 0:03:19.960 --> 0:03:22.600 for the title on Saturday. If Keys wins, this would 0:03:22.600 --> 0:03:25.200 be her first title at a Grand Slam tournament. If 0:03:25.200 --> 0:03:27.640 you're wondering, The Australian Open is called a Grand Slam 0:03:27.800 --> 0:03:30.079 because it's one of the four major tennis events every 0:03:30.080 --> 0:03:34.200 calendar year. Meanwhile, Sabalank is chasing her third straight Australian 0:03:34.200 --> 0:03:36.080 Open title. The last time these two met in a 0:03:36.080 --> 0:03:38.920 Grand Slam was twenty twenty three in the US Open semifinal. 0:03:39.080 --> 0:03:42.160 Sabalanka won that match in three sets. We've got pro 0:03:42.280 --> 0:03:45.480 vibes happening tonight too. Love Madison plays Love Omaha at 0:03:45.560 --> 0:03:48.760 eight pm Eastern. That one will stream live on ESPN 0:03:48.800 --> 0:03:52.440 Plus and over in the PVF the Omaha Supernova's take 0:03:52.480 --> 0:03:55.800 on the Columbus Fury at seven pm Eastern, streaming on YouTube. 0:03:55.880 --> 0:03:57.920 That'll be followed by the India IG Night against the 0:03:57.960 --> 0:04:01.760 San Diego Mojo at ten fifteen Eastern on Volleyball World TV. 0:04:02.120 --> 0:04:04.200 Lots more pro vibes happening over the weekend, so we'll 0:04:04.240 --> 0:04:06.520 link to the love and PVF schedules in our show 0:04:06.520 --> 0:04:11.480 notes to Lacrosse aka the Lax to our Vibes. On Thursday, 0:04:11.480 --> 0:04:14.360 the Women's Lacrosse League rebranded as the Mabeline Women's Lacross 0:04:14.400 --> 0:04:17.360 League after the cosmetics company stepped in as a title sponsor. 0:04:17.600 --> 0:04:20.240 The league also announced its inaugural rosters for its upcoming 0:04:20.320 --> 0:04:23.200 Championship Series debut in February. We'll link to those in 0:04:23.240 --> 0:04:26.279 the show notes. Beyond that, we still don't really know 0:04:26.360 --> 0:04:30.080 what's happening with the wl sorry, the Mabeling Women's Lacrosse 0:04:30.120 --> 0:04:33.200 League beyond that single one week tournament just yet. So 0:04:33.760 --> 0:04:37.400 in Mabeling parlance, maybe it'll be a full time lacrosse league. 0:04:37.880 --> 0:04:42.400 Maybe we still don't have any information. So I want 0:04:42.400 --> 0:04:44.200 to take a quick second to talk about the big 0:04:44.279 --> 0:04:46.760 Naomi Germa to Chelsea News. So as of this taping, 0:04:46.920 --> 0:04:49.320 it's still not official, and Germa did report to the 0:04:49.400 --> 0:04:52.760 NWSL's first day of preseason training as expected, but it 0:04:52.800 --> 0:04:54.560 really feels like only a matter of time before the 0:04:54.560 --> 0:04:57.200 eyes are dotted and the teaser crossed and Germa ships 0:04:57.200 --> 0:04:59.359 off to jolly old England, which brings us to a 0:04:59.360 --> 0:05:03.040 really great question from a slice about Gurma's historic transfer fee. 0:05:03.440 --> 0:05:06.279 So Kaylee wrote, quote, just wondering if you could explain 0:05:06.320 --> 0:05:09.040 what the transfer fee means for Nami Germa. Is that 0:05:09.080 --> 0:05:11.000 to get her out of her contract with San Diego? 0:05:11.160 --> 0:05:12.680 Does it have anything to do with how much she'll 0:05:12.680 --> 0:05:14.960 get paid? Just figured more people like me might not 0:05:15.000 --> 0:05:17.160 know what all that means. Love the podcast so much. 0:05:17.600 --> 0:05:20.919 End quote. Great questions, Kaylee, and you got it right. Basically, 0:05:20.960 --> 0:05:24.039 the transfer fee is a negotiation between two clubs, so 0:05:24.160 --> 0:05:26.479 money paid by Team A to get the rights to 0:05:26.520 --> 0:05:30.120 a player currently under contract with team B. It's completely 0:05:30.160 --> 0:05:32.000 separate from the salary that the player is going to 0:05:32.080 --> 0:05:34.960 get from their new team, which is a different negotiation 0:05:35.040 --> 0:05:37.680 between club and player. In fact, the two clubs might 0:05:37.680 --> 0:05:39.479 come to an agreement on the transfer fee and the 0:05:39.480 --> 0:05:41.400 player could still refuse to sign with the new team, 0:05:41.560 --> 0:05:43.440 in which case they'd stay put on their current team 0:05:43.480 --> 0:05:46.839 and finish out their deal. The FIFA Women's Football Transfer 0:05:46.880 --> 0:05:49.000 window this is the period of time when clubs can 0:05:49.040 --> 0:05:51.360 buy or sell or loan out players. There's two of them. 0:05:51.400 --> 0:05:53.520 One of them is right now in January and one 0:05:53.640 --> 0:05:56.679 is in the summer. So Naomi Germa is under contract 0:05:56.720 --> 0:05:58.719 with the San Diego Wave through the end of twenty 0:05:58.760 --> 0:06:02.479 twenty six. Else wants her now, so since she's not 0:06:02.560 --> 0:06:05.119 a free agent, Chelsea are willing to pay the Wave 0:06:05.320 --> 0:06:08.839 one point one million dollars to take her rights aka 0:06:08.920 --> 0:06:11.839 have her play for their team starting now, instead of 0:06:11.839 --> 0:06:13.599 waiting for her to become a free agent and sign 0:06:13.680 --> 0:06:16.719 with them. Then, Chelsea's undefeated midway through the Women's Super 0:06:16.800 --> 0:06:19.479 League season out in England which runs September to May, 0:06:19.920 --> 0:06:22.440 and they lost star Canadian back Kadisha Buchanan to an 0:06:22.480 --> 0:06:25.000 ACL jury last November, so they'd really like to shore 0:06:25.080 --> 0:06:26.840 up their defense with Germa, and they'd like to do 0:06:26.880 --> 0:06:30.440 it now. Per sources, Gurma's pursuing the move as well, 0:06:30.480 --> 0:06:32.600 so they're aligned and wanting to make it work now. 0:06:32.640 --> 0:06:34.920 In the past, things would have been more complicated because 0:06:34.920 --> 0:06:37.719 the NWSL basically tried to live in a bubble where 0:06:37.760 --> 0:06:40.600 they operated separately and differently from how FIFA and World 0:06:40.640 --> 0:06:44.760 Football operated in the old draft system. The NWSL allowed 0:06:44.800 --> 0:06:47.080 teams to acquire and hold on to rights to players 0:06:47.120 --> 0:06:49.919 without their consent, like a lot of other American sports. 0:06:50.160 --> 0:06:54.120 But the new NWSLCBA basically makes the NWSL rules more 0:06:54.160 --> 0:06:57.719 aligned with FIFA and World Football. So an NWSL team 0:06:57.760 --> 0:07:00.720 can only hold player rights pursuant to a con so 0:07:00.760 --> 0:07:02.880 both a team and a player have to agree they 0:07:02.880 --> 0:07:04.840 want to be together. So now when a team in 0:07:04.839 --> 0:07:07.159 another league, say Chelsea, wants to do a deal with 0:07:07.160 --> 0:07:09.240 the team in the AMWSL, in this case the Wave 0:07:09.520 --> 0:07:12.400 both are operating with the same rules, same transfer window, 0:07:12.600 --> 0:07:15.760 all that jazz. Now you're seeing transfer fees happen a 0:07:15.760 --> 0:07:18.960 lot more than before in women's football. Previously there just 0:07:19.040 --> 0:07:21.440 wasn't as much money at play, and contracts, at least 0:07:21.440 --> 0:07:23.560 in European women's football were typically shorter than on the 0:07:23.600 --> 0:07:25.520 men's side, so they were like a year or eighteen months, 0:07:25.640 --> 0:07:27.360 and it made more sense to wait out a player's 0:07:27.360 --> 0:07:29.680 contract and go after them at free agency. But in 0:07:29.760 --> 0:07:33.600 recent years, as contracts have gotten longer, valuations have gone up, 0:07:33.680 --> 0:07:37.480 investments have poured in attendance, viewership records all those getting broken, 0:07:37.960 --> 0:07:40.559 more and more transfer fees have been paid. In fact, 0:07:40.720 --> 0:07:43.480 eight of the top nine richest transfer fees in women's 0:07:43.480 --> 0:07:46.760 soccer all happened last year, and make that nine of 0:07:46.800 --> 0:07:49.280 the richest ten in the last thirteen months once Kermis 0:07:49.320 --> 0:07:51.800 deal is done. Now something to think about as transfer 0:07:51.880 --> 0:07:54.480 fees become more common, especially in light of some related 0:07:54.480 --> 0:07:57.600 negotiations currently going on in the MLS, the men's professional 0:07:57.600 --> 0:08:00.720 soccer league in the US, think about what their players 0:08:00.800 --> 0:08:04.000 should get a percentage of that transfer fee. It's their 0:08:04.120 --> 0:08:06.920 value driving up that dollar amount, so shouldn't they see 0:08:06.920 --> 0:08:09.440 a part of it, especially when I look at contracts 0:08:09.440 --> 0:08:12.200 for players. So if Chelsea thinks Nailmi is worth one 0:08:12.200 --> 0:08:14.960 point one million dollars plus whatever salary they pay her, 0:08:15.200 --> 0:08:17.920 they clearly value her way more than the dollar amount 0:08:17.960 --> 0:08:20.560 that she's going to see. So remember on the show, 0:08:20.560 --> 0:08:22.680 we've talked about the pyramid of value in women's sports, 0:08:23.000 --> 0:08:25.360 like it feels like male athletes are top of the pyramid. 0:08:25.360 --> 0:08:27.680 They're recognized as the product and the most valuable thing 0:08:27.720 --> 0:08:29.760 in the sport, while women are in the middle of 0:08:29.800 --> 0:08:33.120 the pyramid or sometimes near the bottom. Consider that pyramid 0:08:33.160 --> 0:08:35.360 when thinking about how much money clubs are willing to 0:08:35.360 --> 0:08:39.240 send each other in transfer fees while not paying that 0:08:39.280 --> 0:08:42.840 amount in salaries. To the players. This will be interesting 0:08:42.840 --> 0:08:45.080 to watch as the NWSL moves forward with this new 0:08:45.120 --> 0:08:47.960 CBA and as money continues to pour in into women's 0:08:47.960 --> 0:08:50.640 football across the world. Thank you for the question, Kaylee. 0:08:50.679 --> 0:08:53.000 I actually learned a lot researching that too. We're going 0:08:53.080 --> 0:08:54.720 to take a quick break. When we come back, Big 0:08:54.760 --> 0:08:58.080 Citrist is talking a whole lot of hoops. Don't go anywhere, 0:09:05.920 --> 0:09:09.360 Welcome back slices. Big Citrus ready to convene to talk 0:09:09.400 --> 0:09:10.840 a whole lot of hoops, and we want to start 0:09:10.840 --> 0:09:14.440 with WNBA free agency. Now, this is none of our 0:09:14.600 --> 0:09:17.400 jobs or wheelhouses, and in fact, we'll probably be having 0:09:17.440 --> 0:09:19.960 someone whose job it is to understand itself on the 0:09:19.960 --> 0:09:22.240 show to talk more about the biggest moves in WNBA 0:09:22.280 --> 0:09:23.959 free agency and how all of it works. But in 0:09:24.000 --> 0:09:27.040 the meantime, Mish is our expert on this, the closest 0:09:27.040 --> 0:09:28.640 thing we've got to it. So Mish, can you kind 0:09:28.679 --> 0:09:31.400 of tell us, like what's happening and what does it 0:09:31.480 --> 0:09:34.160 mean to be in this WNBA free agency period? 0:09:34.679 --> 0:09:34.959 Yeah? 0:09:35.080 --> 0:09:38.880 I am learning all this stuff, but as I understand it, 0:09:39.040 --> 0:09:42.079 there are a few categories of players in free agency. 0:09:42.160 --> 0:09:45.720 So first up, there is reserve players and the people 0:09:45.760 --> 0:09:47.760 who are eligible for this, or any player with three 0:09:47.840 --> 0:09:50.920 years of service or fewer and whose prior team extended 0:09:50.920 --> 0:09:55.200 them a reserved qualifying offer between very recently January eleventh 0:09:55.360 --> 0:09:58.679 and the twentieth. So basically what this means is that 0:09:58.679 --> 0:10:03.240 that player's prior team as sole negotiating rights to that player, 0:10:03.600 --> 0:10:06.360 and if their team didn't offer them a contract, they 0:10:06.440 --> 0:10:09.680 just become an unrestricted free agent on February first, so 0:10:09.720 --> 0:10:12.880 that's coming up. An example of a player with this 0:10:13.000 --> 0:10:16.040 designation would be the New York Liberties Marien Johannes, who 0:10:16.160 --> 0:10:18.360 a lot of people are high on, but she's currently 0:10:18.400 --> 0:10:19.280 a reserve player for. 0:10:19.240 --> 0:10:22.000 Them, meaning that the Liberty are the only people can 0:10:22.040 --> 0:10:24.920 extend her an offer because they did extend that reserve 0:10:25.000 --> 0:10:27.640 qualifying offer from the eleventh to the twentieth exactly. So 0:10:27.640 --> 0:10:29.920 now they'll negotiate with each other and she'll be on 0:10:30.000 --> 0:10:32.720 the Liberty and they'll agree to some deal. Yep, okay. 0:10:33.120 --> 0:10:35.600 So that's only players with three years of service or 0:10:35.600 --> 0:10:37.480 fewer though, so those are sort of newer players to 0:10:37.559 --> 0:10:40.280 the league. What's a restricted free agent? 0:10:40.760 --> 0:10:44.480 So this is any player with four years of service 0:10:44.559 --> 0:10:49.000 whose contract has expired and who receives a qualifying offer 0:10:49.400 --> 0:10:53.280 from their previous team. So basically, that player's previous team 0:10:53.360 --> 0:10:56.160 has the right to match any contract offer that they 0:10:56.240 --> 0:10:59.840 get from another team, which sometimes people call it the 0:11:00.440 --> 0:11:04.160 first refusal. So in that scenario, if the restricted free 0:11:04.160 --> 0:11:07.240 agent were to sign an offer with another team, then 0:11:07.440 --> 0:11:10.760 their prior team gets four days from when they're notified 0:11:10.800 --> 0:11:13.320 to determine whether or not they're going to match that 0:11:13.440 --> 0:11:15.920 offer to try to keep that player. If they do 0:11:16.080 --> 0:11:18.080 decide to match, then that player is going to stay 0:11:18.080 --> 0:11:20.880 with their previous team, pretty simple. But if they don't, 0:11:21.000 --> 0:11:23.520 then that player will be under contract with the new 0:11:23.520 --> 0:11:25.760 team who's extended that offer. 0:11:26.280 --> 0:11:26.800 Example. 0:11:26.960 --> 0:11:30.240 Dj A Carrington, we all love her, Noah lover, She's 0:11:30.280 --> 0:11:33.400 currently a restricted free agent because she got a qualifying 0:11:33.440 --> 0:11:35.800 offer from the Connecticut Sun during that window. 0:11:36.160 --> 0:11:38.320 Okay, so the point of a restricted free agent is 0:11:38.360 --> 0:11:41.600 basically like, maybe the team had a four year deal 0:11:41.679 --> 0:11:45.120 plus an option, meaning they're on the team for four years, 0:11:45.120 --> 0:11:48.000 and then in the option year they have more rights 0:11:48.040 --> 0:11:50.240 to the player, but not all the rights, Like, there's 0:11:50.280 --> 0:11:52.600 still an opportunity for the player to leave for somewhere 0:11:52.640 --> 0:11:54.640 that will pay them more and wants the more, but 0:11:54.760 --> 0:11:57.200 the team that's had them on a contract has the 0:11:57.240 --> 0:12:00.760 first chance to try to keep them exactly. Yeah, okay, 0:12:01.080 --> 0:12:03.280 so it's like they're kind of a free agent, but 0:12:03.920 --> 0:12:06.080 the team they're currently playing for has a little bit 0:12:06.080 --> 0:12:10.240 of Say, yep, then there's unrestricted free agent. What's that? 0:12:10.760 --> 0:12:13.439 These are players with five or more years of service 0:12:13.480 --> 0:12:16.640 they're getting up there, getting old, or players with fewer 0:12:16.679 --> 0:12:20.199 than five years of service who don't receive qualifying offers 0:12:20.480 --> 0:12:23.720 during the window that they can receive those. So basically, 0:12:24.040 --> 0:12:26.520 this means that a player is free to sign with 0:12:26.679 --> 0:12:29.800 any team, no hindrance, as long as they haven't been 0:12:29.800 --> 0:12:32.839 designated a core player by their prior team. 0:12:33.040 --> 0:12:37.080 It's getting complicated, mes, Yeah, okay, so real quick, just 0:12:37.080 --> 0:12:41.040 to clarify everyone we've talked about before, this has gotten 0:12:41.040 --> 0:12:43.880 some sort of offer from the team they were on 0:12:44.320 --> 0:12:47.200 during this January eleventh to twentieth window, correct, And the 0:12:47.360 --> 0:12:51.240 unrestricted people have gotten no such offer from anyone. Correct, 0:12:52.400 --> 0:12:54.920 But tell us about this core player thing. 0:12:56.200 --> 0:12:58.640 Yeah, so, folks who are eligible for this, this is 0:12:58.640 --> 0:13:01.320 where it's like, all right, we're getting in the leeds. 0:13:01.440 --> 0:13:05.160 But I understand it to be any unrestricted or restricted 0:13:05.160 --> 0:13:09.800 free agent excluding so not including players who've already played 0:13:09.920 --> 0:13:13.600 on a core designation for two or more seasons. So 0:13:13.880 --> 0:13:17.000 when a player is cored, it basically means that the 0:13:17.040 --> 0:13:19.880 team that they were cored by becomes the only team 0:13:20.120 --> 0:13:23.000 that that player can sign or negotiate a contract with 0:13:23.360 --> 0:13:26.880 during free agency. But that doesn't mean that a move 0:13:26.920 --> 0:13:30.000 to another team can't be figured out. It has to 0:13:30.000 --> 0:13:32.199 be something that both parties want and then they'll work 0:13:32.240 --> 0:13:35.160 together to make that happen. So, for example, Dallas Wings 0:13:35.160 --> 0:13:39.160 forward Satusaboli just told everybody that she played her last 0:13:39.160 --> 0:13:42.280 game in the Dallas Wings uniform, but she and the 0:13:42.320 --> 0:13:44.720 Wings are now working together to find her a new 0:13:44.760 --> 0:13:46.920 team and find the best deal for the franchise. 0:13:48.120 --> 0:13:51.319 And the thing about core players is it's kind of 0:13:51.400 --> 0:13:54.840 like a franchise tag if you've ever heard of that 0:13:54.880 --> 0:13:57.320 in other sports. You can't just give them to everyone. 0:13:57.480 --> 0:14:03.360 You get one or per season. So you get to 0:14:03.360 --> 0:14:07.120 pick one player and that's a fully guaranteed one year 0:14:07.160 --> 0:14:10.200 deal worth the supermax, and if you're unrestricted or restricted, 0:14:10.200 --> 0:14:12.040 you could be eligible for it, but it's just a 0:14:12.120 --> 0:14:15.000 one year deal on the maximum base salary, and then 0:14:15.040 --> 0:14:19.400 that team cannot core anybody else. YEP, that's right. Okay, 0:14:19.800 --> 0:14:22.640 So it's a good deal because you're making the most 0:14:22.640 --> 0:14:25.480 money possible, but it's hard if you want to go 0:14:25.520 --> 0:14:27.560 somewhere else because you don't really have any choice. 0:14:27.640 --> 0:14:27.800 Right. 0:14:28.600 --> 0:14:31.520 Well, so that's why I bring up Satu, because if 0:14:31.520 --> 0:14:33.720 you have a good relationship with your front office, like 0:14:33.760 --> 0:14:34.520 you can work with. 0:14:34.520 --> 0:14:39.280 Them, you're a really terrible one real though, because if 0:14:39.280 --> 0:14:42.480 it's really bad, they're like fine, like we're it's not 0:14:42.560 --> 0:14:44.680 gonna work to keep you because you're not gonna want 0:14:44.680 --> 0:14:46.600 to be here and it's gonna be pretty miserable, like 0:14:46.640 --> 0:14:48.920 sort of what's going on with Jimmy Butler in the MNBA, 0:14:49.400 --> 0:14:51.400 Like it's so bad that at this point they're just 0:14:51.440 --> 0:14:54.560 extending various suspensions to keep them from playing because the 0:14:54.640 --> 0:14:57.440 vibes are terrible. So, yeah, Satu is working on it 0:14:57.480 --> 0:14:59.560 in a positive way, but potentially also it could be 0:14:59.600 --> 0:15:02.800 so bad that you're like, your core, help me get 0:15:02.800 --> 0:15:05.040 out of here, and then it's kind of a benefit 0:15:05.080 --> 0:15:06.360 to both sides if they know it's going to be 0:15:06.400 --> 0:15:09.640 a really miserable existence. Okay, I think I get this. 0:15:09.800 --> 0:15:12.080 So Satu, soably, for instance, is a core, but since 0:15:12.120 --> 0:15:13.520 she wants to leave, she and the Wings will try 0:15:13.520 --> 0:15:15.640 to work to send her somewhere else. Meanwhile, you look 0:15:15.680 --> 0:15:18.520 at someone like Kennedy Carter of the Sky. She's an 0:15:18.600 --> 0:15:22.280 unrestricted free agent. She's never been cored. The Sky did 0:15:22.320 --> 0:15:24.320 not give her a qualifying offer to come back to 0:15:24.320 --> 0:15:26.760 the team she's been on before the deadline, So she 0:15:27.240 --> 0:15:29.920 is a freeze bird. Yep, anywhere she wants to go 0:15:29.960 --> 0:15:32.840 if they want her back. Bird. Yes, she's like a bird. 0:15:32.880 --> 0:15:35.960 I was going to sing it, but she's like a 0:15:36.040 --> 0:15:41.200 bird fly away. Come. But as we mentioned, Kennedy needs 0:15:41.200 --> 0:15:42.720 to find a team that wants her and that she 0:15:42.800 --> 0:15:45.280 will be on and be a positive member of society 0:15:45.320 --> 0:15:48.360 on while also being a tremendous basketball player, which has 0:15:48.400 --> 0:15:53.080 been somewhat of the problem. Okay, Alex, I'm sure your 0:15:53.080 --> 0:15:55.440 brain is working one thousand miles an hour. What is 0:15:55.440 --> 0:15:57.400 it doing right now when you're thinking about all of 0:15:57.400 --> 0:15:59.880 these different types of players. 0:16:00.000 --> 0:16:01.560 Frest thing I did, as means she were going through 0:16:01.600 --> 0:16:04.080 all of that, was I pulled up her hoopstats to 0:16:04.120 --> 0:16:06.840 see what Caitlin Clark's contract looks like down the road. 0:16:07.240 --> 0:16:10.960 Because rookies totally different world where you know, they typically 0:16:11.000 --> 0:16:12.840 get signed anywhere from a one year to a three 0:16:12.920 --> 0:16:16.280 year contract. I was curious, at what point for Caitlin 0:16:16.520 --> 0:16:20.040 will she become a player that has the ability to 0:16:20.080 --> 0:16:23.560 negotiate with other teams. Now, it's also very much complicated 0:16:23.600 --> 0:16:26.600 by the fact that WNBA players just decided to opt 0:16:26.640 --> 0:16:29.240 out of their current CBA and so the rules that 0:16:29.320 --> 0:16:33.640 will go into effect next year likely will be different, 0:16:33.680 --> 0:16:36.600 probably than what Caitlin's contract currently says. 0:16:37.120 --> 0:16:39.800 But yeah, that's where my mind initially went to your 0:16:39.800 --> 0:16:41.800 point about the new CBA. I'll be interested to see 0:16:41.800 --> 0:16:44.120 what it looks like because back in the day, one 0:16:44.160 --> 0:16:46.640 of the biggest complaints from WNBA players is you would 0:16:46.640 --> 0:16:48.920 get drafted, so then you would have X number of 0:16:49.000 --> 0:16:51.240 years to play for whatever team drafted you, so you 0:16:51.240 --> 0:16:55.000 had no say. Then if you got cord then you 0:16:55.080 --> 0:16:57.120 had more and I think back in the day it 0:16:57.200 --> 0:17:00.000 might have even been more years than one. I'm not posit, 0:17:00.160 --> 0:17:03.920 but I just remember, particularly Elena Deladon had a valid 0:17:03.920 --> 0:17:07.760 complaint that she had no say over the first seven 0:17:07.920 --> 0:17:12.000 years of her career. And depending on how long your 0:17:12.040 --> 0:17:14.359 career is, to wait that long before you get to 0:17:14.359 --> 0:17:16.280 decide where you want to live, who you want to 0:17:16.280 --> 0:17:18.720 play with, who you want to play for whether you 0:17:18.720 --> 0:17:21.200 have a shot at a title. All of that, particularly 0:17:21.880 --> 0:17:24.000 even just five or six years ago, when the haves 0:17:24.000 --> 0:17:27.199 and have nots was much more pronounced like you're on 0:17:27.240 --> 0:17:30.160 a perennial loser that doesn't invest and has bad facilities, 0:17:30.160 --> 0:17:32.959 and you're stuck there for your entire career, straight up 0:17:32.960 --> 0:17:37.000 horrible time. Yeah, and so they're definitely making a lot 0:17:37.000 --> 0:17:39.600 of changes so that players have more ability to move around, 0:17:39.600 --> 0:17:41.760 and we've seen that obviously some of the biggest names 0:17:41.800 --> 0:17:44.600 like Brianna Stewart taking into titles in Seattle and being like, 0:17:44.640 --> 0:17:46.280 all right, let me bring some fun to New York. 0:17:46.640 --> 0:17:48.960 Before there was not nearly as much movement in the league. 0:17:49.000 --> 0:17:50.760 Some people don't like that. It's nice to see a 0:17:50.800 --> 0:17:54.399 player wear one uniform their entire career, but if you're 0:17:54.440 --> 0:17:56.320 somewhere that isn't getting the right players and putting in 0:17:56.359 --> 0:17:59.280 the money and giving your players a good experience, the 0:17:59.320 --> 0:18:01.399 idea that you'd be stuck there for a whole career 0:18:01.520 --> 0:18:04.000 or almost all of it, that sucks NICs. 0:18:04.080 --> 0:18:05.920 I think it's especially interesting when you see what the 0:18:06.040 --> 0:18:10.960 NWSL did and making essentially every player an unrestricted free 0:18:10.960 --> 0:18:13.359 agent at the end of their contract. Also getting rid 0:18:13.359 --> 0:18:16.080 of the draft. But the NWSL has now set the 0:18:16.119 --> 0:18:20.320 bar when it comes to player free agency and player rights. 0:18:20.920 --> 0:18:23.240 When it comes to that specific issue, I think the 0:18:23.320 --> 0:18:26.280 WNBA is different because the season is so much shorter 0:18:26.440 --> 0:18:29.960 that what we see as WNBA players don't necessarily live 0:18:30.040 --> 0:18:33.480 in market. They have more flexibility to establish their life 0:18:33.560 --> 0:18:36.040 somewhere else and then kind of fly into market for 0:18:36.119 --> 0:18:38.480 that four five month window, depending on how long the 0:18:38.520 --> 0:18:42.080 season is. But it makes me curious is that something 0:18:42.080 --> 0:18:45.960 that WNBA players are talking about as the CBA negotiations 0:18:46.000 --> 0:18:48.800 continue to say, Hey, if the NWSL is doing this, 0:18:49.080 --> 0:18:49.679 why can't we. 0:18:50.320 --> 0:18:52.960 Two fascinating things that you made me think of, Alex. 0:18:53.080 --> 0:18:56.159 Number one is not only in women's sports, but in 0:18:56.240 --> 0:18:59.280 American sports. The NWSL is now one of the few 0:18:59.320 --> 0:19:01.600 places that's like, good draft, We're going to let you 0:19:01.640 --> 0:19:03.000 go where you want to go. This is all about 0:19:03.040 --> 0:19:07.359 player rights, which is very European and global. You know, 0:19:07.400 --> 0:19:10.080 we don't want the Europeans colonizing our players, like we said, 0:19:10.080 --> 0:19:12.080 but we are sort of into the rules that they 0:19:12.119 --> 0:19:14.919 have that give players a lot more rights. Secondarily to 0:19:14.960 --> 0:19:17.480 what you said though about you know, players picking where 0:19:17.480 --> 0:19:19.639 they want to live and maybe living in market for 0:19:19.680 --> 0:19:21.880 some sports and not in others. One thing that has 0:19:21.960 --> 0:19:25.240 historically been a part of women's sports has been trying 0:19:25.240 --> 0:19:28.520 to give players what they want, understanding that the leagues 0:19:28.560 --> 0:19:31.480 that they're in don't pay enough to hold them hostage, 0:19:31.920 --> 0:19:34.159 and that in men's sports, like you're going to millions 0:19:34.160 --> 0:19:36.760 of dollars, suck it up, go live and fill in 0:19:36.800 --> 0:19:38.920