Throughout the last several years, the Chicago Sky has been in the news for more bad than good. With organizational misstep after organizational misstep plaguing the franchise, it appears the Sky has been a dark one since winning that 2021 championship with Candace Parker.
Many a critic of the Sky’s basketball operations has lamented that the real problem with the Chicago franchise lies in how its business operations are handled. The latest round of negative news regarding the franchise lends plenty of credence to that claim.
Recently, the Sky’s principal owner – Michael Alter – was named in a lawsuit filed by Steven Rogers. The suit was filed in Cook County Circuit court a few years and alleges that Alter has engaged in self-dealing in order to increase Alter’s interest while looking to shortchange minority investors such as Rogers.
A lawsuit against the team’s principal owner is the last thing it needs. It is one of the last things the WNBA needs as well given it is in the middle of an increasingly high-profile collective bargaining agreement (CBA) snafu with the players.
CBA talks seemingly have gone nowhere despite two extensions of the previous agreement which expired early last month. Kelsey Plum, Nneka Ogwumike and Napheesa Collier are set to meet on Monday with the W in hopes of bridging gaps between the two sides to arrive at a new CBA.
This recent lawsuit leveled against the Sky is likely on the minds of many a player. According to a Forbes article that was released last year, the Sky are worth $240 million and bring in revenue of $16 million. That article mentions the Sky as the seventh most valuable WNBA franchise, but it does not mention how much the Golden State Valkyries are worth (which is $500 million according to Sportico).
Combine that with the information in the Forbes piece and the Valkyries, New York Liberty, Indiana Fever, Seattle Storm, Las Vegas Aces, Phoenix Mercury and Dallas Wings are worth more than the Sky.
Per reports, a key contention of the owners is that they will lose a lot of money if they agree to what the WNBPA wants which is reportedly 30 percent of gross WNBA revenues. The WNBA has reportedly offered the players a majority of net revenues, but math tells us net revenue is less than gross.
Players can use this to further contend that the money actually is there – along with what they know the increasing franchise valuations, money generated through expansion and media deals.
The lawsuit leveled against Alter by Rogers has CBA overtones in the macro. In the micro, it gives the impression that the Sky are indeed a mismanaged franchise. There are likely many players and fans who believe the Alters of the world among the W’s ownership ranks are the reason why the CBA talks have been stuck in quicksand for months.
Remember that anonymous study that was conducted of players that mentioned how the Sky was allegedly the worst-run franchise in the W? There is plenty of connecting of the dots to this situation that gives credibility to that claim. Also interesting is how one of Alter’s classmates at Chicago Law School in the late 1980s was … NBA commissioner Adam Silver.
The highlight of Chicago’s existence as a franchise occurred with that 2021 championship that featured Parker, Courtney Vandersloot, Allie Quigley, Diamond DeShields, Dana Evans and Finals MVP Kahleah Copper. The Sky losing the following year in the semifinals to the Connecticut Sun was what set in motion a rebuild of the franchise.
The interior tandem of Angel Reese and Kamilla Cardoso is supposed to be a frontcourt dynamic duo that should have the Sky as contenders for the next decade and a half. But the Sky inexplicably fired coach Teresa Weatherspoon following the 2024 season – her only year at the helm despite Chicago being stuck in quicksand due to injuries down the stretch.
Let us not forget how Reese has called out the organization for relying on aging talent. Let us not forget how the Sky are just now in the process of completing a practice facility when other franchises – such as the Lynx, Liberty, Aces, Storm, Mercury and Valkyries are already up and running with theirs. The Fever are also set to have one in place prior to the 2027 season.
The shame of all of this is that the Sky (and the Los Angeles Sparks, for that matter) should be in the same category as the Liberty, Aces and Mercury because of the market they play in. There is little to no reason for why a WNBA franchise in the third (and second in the case of LA) should have the problems they have.
At least the Sparks made a step in the right direction last season on the court even if it did not result in a trip to the playoffs. The Sky appear to be stuck in neutral and when a team has the plethora of organization missteps Chicago has, the buck stops with the owner.
It is yet to be proven if the allegations against Alter are accurate – that will be decided in court unless Alter decides to settle with Rogers. But, from a WNBA perspective, given how the Sky have been mismanaged lately, it is obvious that something has to be done about Alter before he alters the trajectory of the Sky for the worse.
