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The other company is a Delaware limited liability company called TSTM Holdings, which submitted its trademark registration application in 2024. The WNBA, which allowed its Houston Comets trademark to lapse in 2021, is opposing TSTM's application in the federal trademark office.
The WNBA still sells Comets jerseys in its online store. In its opposition filing, an attorney for the WNBA argues the league retained common law rights for its previous Comets trademarks because it kept marketing products related to the team. The WNBA’s attorney also argues the general public associates the Houston Comets with the WNBA, which would create likelihood for confusion if TSTM is allowed to trademark the name for similar goods and services.
Danielle Lerner: The WNBA is also facing similar problems with securing trademark registrations for the Cleveland Rockers and Detroit Shock — essentially, the league let its prior registrations lapse and then other entities swooped in. This was avoidable.
Seattle Storm standout Dominique Malonga, the No. 2 overall pick of the 2025 WNBA draft, received her letter of clearance from FIBA on Wednesday, officially making her eligible to play in the WNBA this season, the federation told ESPN. The news comes on the heels of a contract dispute between Malonga and Turkish powerhouse Fenerbahçe and uncertainty over whether she would be released by the club to play in the WNBA. The Storm's first preseason game is this Saturday and their season opener is slated for May 8. Malonga initially signed a three-year contract with Fenerbahçe during the summer of 2025 that months later the club announced she "unilaterally terminated." The deal stipulated that she was also allowed to play in the WNBA in between seasons, a source told ESPN, helping clear the way for FIBA to ensure her WNBA eligibility.
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New Balance executive Chris Davis: I’d say the same thing with women’s basketball. Cameron Brink headlines our WNBA roster. But we have a number of NIL athletes, Sienna Betts at UCLA, Aaliyah Crump at Texas and Haylen Ayers in high school, some of the best rising prospects in women’s basketball. So every sport really has a multilayered approach.
The contracts of many of Kerr's current assistant coaches are expiring, and one of his trusted front-of-the-bench voices, Chris DeMarco, already left to take the New York Liberty head coaching position. Willie Green, the former Pelicans head coach and one-time Kerr assistant, is a possibility to return to the staff, league sources said.
Shams Charania: Indiana Fever three-time WNBA All-Star Aliyah Boston is signing a four-year, $6.3 million contract extension with the franchise, giving her the richest total salary in league history to date, Zack Miller of WME Basketball tells me, @alexaphilippou and @kendra__andrews. Boston will make $1M in the upcoming season and 20% of the cap from 2027-29.
Kendra Andrews: BREAKING: Napheesa Collier is signing a one-year $1.4 million super max contract with the Minnesota Lynx, sources tell ESPN. She’s the third player in the WNBA to sign a super max deal.
Brandon “Scoop B” Robinson: Both you and Angel are constantly under the spotlight—especially with her move to Atlanta being the talk of the WNBA right now. How do you two support each other while dealing with the heavy expectations of professional basketball? Wendell Carter Jr.: We’re both competitors so before games after games we tell each other what we should do night in and night out and not to pay too much attention to the outside noise we call it the white noise. Try not to pay too much attention to it and just understand that we’ve already built our foundation in both our leagues and continue to build on it.
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Alexa Philippou: Breaking: Azzi Fudd has been selected No. 1 overall by the Dallas Wings. The seventh No. 1 pick from the UConn Huskies
Alexa Philippou: Asked about her future as WNBA commissioner, Cathy Engelbert said, “I’m here working really hard…nothing else to report… there’s no story here…. really looking forward to the next few years.” She also bristled at the question, asking whether it would be posed to a man
The No. 1 pick on Monday will earn $500,000 in her first season, significantly higher than the $78,831 earned by Paige Bueckers, last year’s top pick. For the second year in a row, that pick belongs to the Dallas Wings. The No. 2 pick, heading to the Minnesota Lynx, will earn $466,913, and the No. 3 pick, going to the Seattle Storm, will get $436,016. All drafted players who end up making a team will earn more than any WNBA player did last year. The league’s minimum $270,000 salary, which second- and third-round picks would earn if they make a roster after training camp, is higher than last year’s maximum salary of $249,244.
