In Practice

Back when he owned the Oakland A’s, Charlie Finley wanted baseball owners wanted to make free agency an annual affair. In other words, everyone would be on a one-year contract. It never happened, in baseball. But it has, sort of, in women’s professional basketball. The Sky are a prime example. Name another sport where three starters—Candace Parker, Azura Stevens, Courtney Vandersloot—would all walk and a fourth—Allie Quigley—announce a de facto retirement. The Cubs of Baez, Bryant and Rizzo come to mind, but even there the team had longer control over their talent than appears to happen in the WNBA. Is the short-term contract a good thing? For owners, probably, or why else would Finley have pushed it? Players, on the other hand, want long-term protection against injuries and slumps. Sky fans were lucky in a way. Vandersloot stayed around for twelve seasons, Quigley for ten. But I’m pretty sure they signed a series of short-term contracts to make that happen; right now, the longest WNBA contracts are all of four years. Now the transience Finley was willing to endure to make a point (and some money) will hit Sky fans with a vengeance.