Sports
WNBA board of governors unanimously ratifies new CBA
Aug 31, 2025; San Francisco, California, USA; Golden State Valkyries guard Kaitlyn Chen (2) holds a ball as the WNBA logo appears on the ball and shorts before the game against the Indiana Fever at Chase Center. Mandatory Credit: Darren Yamashita-Imagn Images The WNBA Board of Governors has unanimously ratified the terms for the new collective bargaining agreement, the league announced Tuesday.
The seven-year agreement goes into effect with the 2026 season and runs through 2032.
The WNBA and Women’s National Basketball Players Association will now finalize the long-form agreement.
“This marks the beginning of a bold new era of the WNBA — one made possible by the passion and dedication of the players, team owners, fans, investors, partners and the entire WNBA family,” WNBA Commissioner Cathy Engelbert said in a statement. “We remain focused on building on the unprecedented momentum around the league and preparing for our milestone 30th season, tipping off in May.”
WNBPA president Nneka Ogwumike announced Monday that the players had voted to ratify the CBA with a nearly unanimous vote.
The revenue-sharing deal agreed to in the new CBA hammered out this month will increase the average salary to $583,000 this season and the maximum salary to $1.4 million, while providing more than $1 billion in salaries and benefits over the contract.
The salary increases represent a significant jump for WNBA players. Team salary caps will be $7 million this season — a huge leap from $1.5 million in 2025 — and will be adjusted annually based on teams and league revenue growth.
The deal projects the maximum salary to reach $2.4 million by 2032, and the average salary to surpass $1 million by then. The minimum salary this season will range from $270,000 to $300,000, depending on service time. The No. 1 overall pick in the 2026 draft will earn approximately $500,000.
All players on the WNBA championship team will receive $60,000 — the payout was $22,908 in 2025 — and the runners-up will receive $20,000 (up from $8,521). The Finals MVP will get a $30,000 bonus (up from $5,000).
The season MVP will receive a $60,000 bonus, the Defensive Player of the Year will get $30,000 and the Rookie of the Year will receive $15,000. The All-Star Game MVP will receive $20,000.
The length of the regular season will increase to 50 games in 2027 and 2028 and 52 from 2029-32.
The WNBA Draft is slated for April 13 with training camps opening six days later.
–Field Level Media
Sports
Bryson DeChambeau headlines group in lead at LIV Golf Korea
Aug 24, 2025; Detroit, Michigan, USA; Bryson DeChambeau of Crushers GC reacts to making his putt on the 18th green in a playoff hole during the finals of the LIV Golf Michigan Team Championship at The Cardinal at Saint John’s Resort. Mandatory Credit: Aaron Doster-Imagn Images Bryson DeChambeau and Charles Howell III battled to the end last year at LIV Golf Korea and picked up where they left off on Thursday, with Sam Vincent joining them for the ride.
The three players each recorded a 5-under-par 65 to spring the top of the leaderboard of this season’s Korea event at Asiad Country Club in Busan, South Korea. They have a one-stroke lead over Ian Poulter, Joaquin Niemann and Thomas Pieters, with four players two shots back and a packed group of 12 at 2-under par.
Vincent built his round on five birdies, including two of his final three holes, while defending champion DeChambeau and Howell had some ups and downs.
DeChambeau made the turn at 5-under and added a birdie at No. 10. But he played the final eight at 1-over with bogeys at holes 13 and 15 and a birdie at 16.
Howell, DeChambeau’s Crushers GC teammate, played the first five holes at even par and followed with an adventure of an eagle, two birdies and two bogeys to reach 3-under. He made birdie on the final two holes to finish in the three-way tie.
Although DeChambeau couldn’t keep the pace of his sizzling first 10 holes, he nonetheless was pleased with his play on an unfamiliar course. LIV Golf Korea was held at the Jack Nicklaus Golf Club Korea in Incheon in 2025.
“I guess Charles and I love Korea. We both played well today, played well last year,” DeChambeau said.
“It’s a tricky golf course. … If you’re strategic and you execute good shots, you can make some birdies. Your ball-striking has to be premier; you can’t fake it around here.”
DeChambeau said his round was impacted by the bogeys on the par-3 13th hole, where his drive overshot the green and left him to three-putt and at 15. At that par-5, 601-yard hole, his second shot landed in the water.
“I felt like being 6-under through 10, I felt like something special was happening, and I simmered off, but still played some great golf. Surprised that I didn’t go deeper,” he said.
Behind DeChambeau and Howell, Crushers took the team lead at 10-under, three strokes ahead of OKGC. That was a mixed blessing for Howell.
“Well, team-wise, it’s wonderful. Individual-wise, it’s terrible. Team-wise I love him up there at the top. Individually I wish he was at the bottom,” Howell said.
“Obviously Bryson, more weeks than not, he plays extremely well, and if my name is near his, I’m usually doing something pretty good.”
Vincent shot the only bogey-free round of the day to give him a share of the lead for the first time in his LIV career. He is temporarily part of the HyFlyers team in the absence of captain Phil Mickelson.
“I don’t know what it is, but the second I joined them (HyFlyers), my game just went up,” Vincent, of New Zealand, said. “It’s been amazing.”
The three leaders will be paired together on Saturday.
The group that stands two shots back includes Sergio Garcia of Spain and Australia’s Cam Smith.
Jon Rahm of Spain finished at even par Thursday in a tie for 27th.
–Field Level Media
Sports
Vikings Need to Move On From J.J. McCarthy Before It Gets Worse
Minnesota Vikings quarterback J.J. McCarthy (9) reacts during a game against the New York Giants at MetLife Stadium, Dec 21, 2025, East Rutherford, NJ, USA The Minnesota Vikings need to rip the band-aid off and give up on J.J. McCarthy.
It’s uncomfortable, especially because the team invested the No. 10 overall pick into McCarthy during the 2024 NFL Draft. But since then, the Vikings fired general manager Kwesi Adofo-Mensah and brought in free agent quarterback Kyler Murray in free agency.
The Vikings are signaling to McCarthy that they’re giving up on him, but now it’s time to formalize that by trading the 23-year-old quarterback.
After OTAs on Wednesday, Murray praised McCarthy to reporters, explaining that he wants to be a veteran leader for the team.
“I know he’s a younger guy, so any way I can help him… give him any knowledge that he needs,” Murray said. “We’re both competitors and want what’s best for the team.”
Murray said that McCarthy has been very receptive to advice, but the former Michigan quarterback didn’t exactly view the relationship that same way.
“It’s just like two guys in a classroom, he sits on one side, I sit on the other side, and it’s the coach’s responsibility to teach us and coach us,” McCarthy said.
McCarthy was asked if there’s any awkwardness with Murray. And he didn’t exactly shut it down.
“Awkwardness? You know, it’s just like the same feeling when you’re in high school and there’s another person on the other side of the room, I wouldn’t say there’s any awkwardness.”
McCarthy referencing that it’s up to Vikings head coach Kevin O’Connell to “teach us and coach us” almost makes it seem like he’s not very receptive to the advice that Murray is trying to give him.
Quarterback competitions never work
The Vikings need to nip this in the butt now before it becomes a bigger issue.
When was the last time a quarterback competition worked? When Russell Wilson beat out Matt Flynn with the Seattle Seahawks? That was almost two decades ago. Quarterback competitions rarely bear fruit. Instead, they take valuable preseason reps away from the team’s starter.
McCarthy told reporters that Minnesota’s brass told him this is an honest competition. But let’s be real about that for a second. There’s no world they convinced Murray to sign with the Vikings without some sort of guarantee that he’d be the starting quarterback.
Murray could’ve gone to the Cleveland Browns, Pittsburgh Steelers or the New York Jets – all three teams that needed a starting quarterback. But he picked the Vikings, probably because they give him the best chance to start and succeed, similar to how Sam Darnold performed under McCarthy before securing a three-year, $100 million contract with the Seattle Seahawks.
That’s why the Vikings need to just admit that this experiment with McCarthy is over. It was screwed up from the moment he injured himself, allowing Darnold to flourish. McCarthy wildly underperformed last year, throwing 12 interceptions compared to 11 touchdown passes.
It’s clear the organization is iffy about him. Now, he sounds iffy about the organization.
Cut bait. Somebody might be willing to give up a Day 2 draft pick to try and save McCarthy’s career. It’s not happening in Minnesota and it’s already time to turn the page.
Sports
Kirby Smart, SEC Continue Complaining About College Football’s Future
As the calendar flips to the next day, things continue to change; however, one consistency will always come to the forefront, and it’s that the SEC will be the biggest crybabies on the planet.
Similar to its geographic counterparts, Georgia football head coach Kirby Smart went to the media to discuss the SEC’s potential to secede from the NCAA. There are currently two issues causing strife for the SEC.
The major power conferences and Notre Dame want to expand the playoffs to 24 teams, while the SEC only wants to expand to 16 teams. I personally don’t think any expansion should occur, as the regular season should still matter in college football. That said, I’m shocked the SEC doesn’t want the larger expansion.
A larger playoffs means more money, more potential home games, and smaller schools feeling that they can genuinely compete for national titles. The SEC complains every year when their 9-3 teams miss the playoffs, so I’m shocked they wouldn’t want half their conference playing in the postseason.
Kirby has his complaints about playoff expansion, but uncontrolled NIL expansion is his bigger concern. I think most people with common sense believe there needs to be more guardrails around NIL. I’m just not sure that head coaches are the right messengers for these complaints.
NIL isn’t going anywhere, either.
College football head coaches tend to be the highest-paid public worker in most states. They can also leave their job whenever they want and hold their universities over the fire for more money. When you hear Kirby Smart complaining about these kids, many of whom coming from limited money, it feels super disingenuous. These high level coaches keep complaining about the current state of NIL, but aren’t coming up with better solutions. Our current “wild west” of NIL is significantly better than these college athletes playing for free in years past.
NIL isn’t the death of college sports, but the SEC leaving the NCAA would be. Smart argues that the SEC can stand on its own, and doesn’t need to play by rules they don’t like.
Things like this is why everyone hates the SEC. If they don’t get everything they like, they take their ball and go home. If the SEC ever left the SEC, maybe the NCAA could survive, but it would always be a shell of its former power.
Also, I feel this is mostly just a bad bluff by Kirby Smart. Yes, SEC fans love their teams, but having an entire season of only SEC football feels like a disaster waiting to happen. Fortunately, the SEC is locked into contracts through the next 5 years, so they’ll have to wait a little before getting too off the rails.
Bryson DeChambeau headlines group in lead at LIV Golf Korea
Vikings Need to Move On From J.J. McCarthy Before It Gets Worse
