Mercury superfans explain making their famous sparkling jerseys
Phoenix Mercury superfans Veronica Philpot and Kevin Arnett go in-depth about their famed sparkling jerseys and what it took to put them together.
Satou Sabally has helped the Phoenix Mercury become one of the top WNBA teams, but she’s also been locked in on other projects behind the scenes.
Sabally serves as the team’s player representative for the WNBPA and has been actively involved in the ongoing Collective Bargaining Agreement negotiations this season. Players have until Oct. 31 to ratify a new CBA.
Throughout the season, Sabally and other players have been vocal about the league’s scheduling and lack of breaks between games. In July, Sabally called the WNBA’s new CBA proposal a “slap in the face.”
The players’ growing disapproval has become more prevalent this season and reached a high point at the All-Star Game in Indianapolis, where all players wore “Pay Us What You Owe Us” shirts at warm-ups.
While many people supported the message, others didn’t, including some interacting with Sabally’s social media accounts.
“I feel like that it’s only men that are in my comments harassing me when I complain about the number of games, when I complain about anything,” Sabally said in a TikTok posted on her account.
“But I still want more money, and I know I deserve it, and I know girls after me deserve it. So all y’all itty bitty little weenie men that hate women and don’t want us to thrive and succeed and want our league to water down, yeah, we don’t like you. We don’t like you.”
Sabally is referring to the players’ desire to get a percentage of the league’s revenue that grows with the business. There’s also a concern with the league’s upcoming expansion to 18 teams by 2030, as rosters are limited to 12 spots.
She also mentioned in the caption that the players were told to stop playing in offseason leagues such as Unrivaled or overseas.
“I could go on a whole rant,” Sabally wrote. “Maybe I was just sick and tired after 5 games in 8 days, but I’m not delusional here, that’s odd (sic). We still make more money at unrivaled or overseas, which they want us to stop playing in too.”
WNBA players have long been playing overseas to supplement their incomes. Unrivaled began play in 2024 when WNBA stars Napheesa Collier and Breanna Stewart wanted a domestic option for players.
The average Unrivaled salary for the league’s three-month season is $220,000, which is $100,000 more than the WNBA’s reported average salary ($119,590).