WNBA makes drastic change that will have even more impact than Caitlin Clark and Angel Reese joining the league | HO

Caitlin Clark and Angel Reese are about to shake up the WNBA as rookies.

But there’s an even bigger change looming that will affect players, coaches and teams for decades to come.

Caitlin Clark deserves first-class travel now that she’s a WNBA starCredit: Getty

The WNBA still has a long ways to go in becoming an economically viable professional sports league.

Yet there have clearly been forward strides in recent years, while the additions of Clark and Reese turned the recent draft into a big TV event with record ratings.

One of the biggest problems for the WNBA has been second-class travel in the first-class pro sports world.

That is expected to soon change.

The WNBA plans to spend $50 million to provide full-time charter flight service for the league’s teams during the season, commissioner Cathy Engelbert said.

“I had zero clue they didn’t already have charter flights,” one fan tweeted.

The move to place teams on private charter flights would address lingering player safety concerns.

It’s hard to imagine Clark, who has a massive following, being forced to fly commercially game after game throughout the season.

Angel Reese is too busy trying to score to worry about waiting in line for flightsCredit: Getty

Clark has already raised the profile of the WNBA, despite not playing her first official game yetCredit: Getty
But it’s taken the WNBA this long to promise that its players will be on charter flights that have long been commonplace for NBA, NFL, MLB and men’s college football/basketball teams.

Once the necessary planes are acquired, the WNBA will spend $25 million per season to better protect its players and significantly improve the quality of regular air travel.

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Rest, sleep and nutrition should also improve.

WNBA players previously faced lengthy security lines with daily flight passengers.

The league’s athletes also dealt with minimal legroom and layovers.

“Our league is growing, the demand for women’s basketball is growing,” WNBA Association president Nneka Ogwumike said.

“That means more eyes on us, which is what we want, but that means more protection from the organization that we play for.

“Chartering flights not only is a safety measure. … Obviously, what it means to be able to play a game and go home and rest and recover and be the elite athletes that we try to be every single night when we step out onto this court.

It’s a great day for our league as a whole that we are able to get here and we’re going to continue to grow and continue to build and continue to push for even better.”

Fans immediately approved of the move — and pushed for the WNBA to do even more.

Reese attended the Met Gala and helped raise the WNBA’s profileCredit: Getty

“It’s about time,” one fan tweeted.

“How about bonuses or getting those salaries up?” a second fan posted.

“THE CAITLIN CLARK EFFECT,” a third fan wrote.

LeBron James makes $47 million more a year than Clark, so the WNBA still has a long way to go to even the playing field.

“Women in sports continue to push new boundaries and inspire us all,” United States President Joe Biden tweeted. “But right now we’re seeing that even if you’re the best, women are not paid their fair share.

“It’s time that we give our daughters the same opportunities as our sons and ensure women are paid what they deserve.”