WNBA commissioner Cathy Engelbert says paying for charter flights would jeopardize league's finances

WNBA commissioner Cathy Engelbert said as much as she would like the league to use charter flights throughout the season, it is not financially responsible to do now.

«It would be more than $20 million a year to fund charter flights for an entire WNBA season,» Engelbert said Thursday in an interview with ESPN. «So this is something that we're not going to jeopardize the financial health of the league and be irresponsible about. If we can get it funded by sponsors and supporters, great, but that's not where we are. We do not have that.

»We've asked all the major airlines. We've asked charter companies. I've been working on this since the moment I came into the league. But without sponsors stepping up, it's just not in the cards right now. If we could get it sponsored or funded in some way… I'm all ears. I've gotten lots of calls over the past year about this since we've been back in our 12 markets. Then when people price it out, and they see it's $20 million-plus, you never hear from them again."

Earlier this week, it was revealed that the New York Liberty were fined $500,000 for chartering flights to away games during the second half of the WNBA season and for other violations of league rules, including an unsanctioned team trip to Napa, California.

A portion of the letter sent to the team, shared with ESPN, read, «For these violations, the Liberty is hereby fined $500,000. Any similar violations in the future will result in more significant discipline, including larger fines and the possible forfeiture of draft picks.»

The league said Thursday the fine was always $500,000, and not a larger amount that was reduced after negotiations with the Liberty.

The flights were purchased by Liberty owners Joe Tsai, co-founder of