New York’s most decorated basketball star didn’t spend the weekend practicing with the Knicks ahead of the upcoming NBA Finals. Instead, the three-time Olympic gold medalist was strapped aboard a 50-foot foiling catamaran for a white-knuckle tour around New York Harbor.
‘I think that the opportunities in New York are kind of limitless,’ WNBA star Breanna Stewart told The Daily Mail before getting a first-hand look at international racing league SailGP. ‘Having a big tour stop here is really cool.’
Along with actor Ewan McGregor, Stewart was one of just two celebrities picked for the ‘Sixth Sailor Experience.’ On Friday, that included some training with the crew in Brooklyn, where the New York Liberty power forward tested her strength by grinding the hand cranks that control the sails. The next day, Stewart slipped her 6ft 4in frame into a high-tech wetsuit before boarding a $5 million sailboat and getting whisked around the harbor at around 50mph.
Saturday’s weather conditions limited the SailGP races to just four teams, all of which are divided by country and use the same exact ship design. And while she technically wasn’t a participant in any actual racing, Stewart still received the ultimate VIP experience, if a slightly dangerous one at that.
The six-year-old international sailing circuit billed as ‘Formula One on the water’ is funded by Oracle billionaire Larry Ellison and has spared no expense in attracting the global elite. Actors Hugh Jackman and Ryan Reynolds are both invested in the Australian team, the Bonds Flying Roos. Meanwhile, the USA SailGP team counts actress Issa Rae, NFL stars DeAndre Hopkins and Kayvon Thibodeaux, as well as entrepreneurs Marc Lasry and Gary Vaynerchuk among its owners.
For Stewart, such opportunities were unthinkable while playing for the WNBA’s Seattle Storm from 2016 to 2022, let alone her other pro stops in China, Russia or Turkey for that matter. As the married mother of two told The Daily Mail, it’s New York that creates these opportunities, which is a major reason she re-signed with the Liberty at a considerable discount.
WNBA Star & Unrivaled co-founder Breanna Stewart with Taylor Canfield, driver of United States SailGP Team, as she learns about the F50 catamaran prior to the SailGP Media Combine
Anna Weis, grinder and jib trimmer of United States SailGP Team, gives Stewart a lesson
Along with Ewan McGregor, Stewart was one of two celebs to get the ‘sixth sailor experience’
‘Absolutely, I mean, listen, I went through free agency,’ Stewart began before correcting herself. ‘Well, I didn’t really go through free agency.’
The vice president of the WNBPA executive committee, Stewart helped negotiate the league’s new
collective-bargaining agreement, which bumped top salaries from just $249,000 to a whopping $1.4 million.
Stewart personally cashed in on that new opportunity, but just not as much as she could have on the free-agent market. Instead of taking a full max contract with another team, the future Hall of Famer re-signed for three years and $3.7 million, allowing the Liberty to retain its championship core from 2024: Stewart, Sabrina Ionescu and Jonquel Jones.
And it’s not the first time she’s taken less to stay in New York. Stewart similarly signed a one-year extension in 2024 that gave the Liberty about $40,000 in extra cap room, which seems almost quaint now that the salary cap is at $7 million per team.
‘Yeah, we were gonna stay here,’ she told The Daily Mail on Friday. ‘My wife loves it here, the kids love it and know that New York is where the lights are the brightest, the city never stops, and that’s the stuff that we love.
‘I think, wanting to obviously make as much as I can, while also making sure that [the Liberty] have the [cap] space to have a lot of great players is something that’s really important, and definitely wanted to make sure of that,’ she added.
Hugh Jackman, co-owner of BONDS Flying Roos SailGP Team, alongside Tom Slingsby, driver
NORTHSTAR SailGP Team helmed by Giles Scott leads the SailGP fleet past the Manhattan skyline on Race Day 2 of the Mubadala New York Sail Grand Prix
Ewan McGregor suited up with the British team before racing got underway in New York
A two-time WNBA MVP with a quartet of NCAA crowns from her time at UConn, Stewart isn’t exactly hurting for endorsement opportunities, like the one she got from SailGP.
The Liberty star already boasts her own line of Puma sneakers not to mention a multi-year partnership with trading card giant Panini America, both of which play on her status as one of the sport’s greatest winners.
But SailGP isn’t trading on Stewart’s hardwood skills. This well-funded league needs star power to promote itself to both general sports fans and uber wealthy, alike, which is why they’re tapping an athlete in the midst of an extraordinary run, both on and off the court.
Aside from the 10 combined titles she’s won in college basketball, the WNBA and the Olympics, Stewart is a three-time Euroleague champion with titles from the Turkish and Russian leagues, not to mention Unrivaled, the 3-on-3 league she helped launch with Napheesa Collier.
And in participating in so many competitions around the world, Stewart helped gain leverage for herself and the rest of the WNBA in labor talks, which is where she enjoyed her greatest victory of all.
‘You want to make sure that you have other options, as far as opportunities,’ she said. ‘Your playing career is only so long, and [you] want to maximize that as much as possible.’
And whereas WNBA players once spent the offseason schlepping across the globe in search of another paycheck, Stewart and her fellow union members can now weigh their options.
Stewart is married to Marta Xargay (left), Spanish guard and former Pheonix Mercury star
Stewart celebrates with her children after win against the Phoenix Mercury at Barclays Center
‘Now that the WNBA really sees the worth and the value of the players, it’ll be a decision,’ she said. ‘It’s not something you’re forced to do, but you can decide if you want to play in the off season, or you want to go to Unrivaled, go overseas and things like that.’
Stewart, herself, opted to return to Istanbul’s Fenerbahçe for a tournament in Spain over the offseason, but admits that was for training purposes and not out of any dire financial need.
And it didn’t hurt that the tournament was being played in the home country of her wife, Marta Xargay, the former Phoenix Mercury shooting guard.
‘I told Marta: ‘You know what, let’s do it,’ she said. ‘Give me some 5-on-5 reps after playing [in 3-on-3] Unrivaled. Be over there for a little bit. Luckily the competition was in Spain, so the family was happy, and then we got back home and went to Liberty.’
The WNBA’s labor deal could impact other sports leagues as well. Even UFC boss Dana White has faced questions about the WNBA’s new minimum salary of $270,000 — something he scoffed at as ‘ridiculous.’
UFC fighters, many of whom are women, can see as little as $12,000 for a single fight.
‘First of all, if you come into the UFC, let’s say you sign a three-fight deal, we’re going to find out if you even belong in the UFC,’ White told Rolling Stone. ‘I should pay you $370,000 to see if you belong in the UFC?’
Thanks, in part, to Stewart, the WNBA has a bigger media deal and more exposure than it had
Stewart is well versed in these topics. As a union leader, she’s watched these battles unfold in other leagues, which she credits for helping the WNBA.
‘I think that we saw [the National Women’s Soccer League], their recent CBA before ours, and then now for us having an incredible one,’ she said. ‘The blueprint behind it… female athletes want to make sure that they’re going to be valued, and that’s incredibly important, and I’m happy that we finally leveled up and are at a starting point where we can continue to grow, even seven years from now.’
With labor peace secured, Stewart’s next challenge is getting the Liberty back on track (they’re just 5-4 entering the week), while helping the WNBA stand out during a crowded summer sports calendar.
Not only is the league competing against Major League Baseball, tennis and golf, but the World Cup and a crowded UFC schedule as well.
Stewart has won three WNBA crowns, three Olympic gold and a quartert of NCAA titles
Fortunately for Stewart and the league, they’re better positioned to compete in a crowded marketplace now that they’ve secured an 11-year media rights deal worth at least $281 million annually, with the potential for further bonuses. Now, instead of battling for time on ESPN and local channels, the WNBA is expanding to NBC, USA and Peacock, as well as Amazon Prime Video.
‘I think the next check box is for us making sure that we’re really crushing it with the media deal, having been on multiple nationally televised platforms, but also having that viewership and attendance go up, because the TV deal can potentially get even better throughout the term of the CBA, which can also make the money even better,’ she added.
As for the pressure of competing with the World Cup, US Open and everything else going on in New York this summer, it’s nothing new for Stewart, who has been winning over audiences since her freshman year at UConn.
‘I think that you feel pressure when you’re in New York anyways,’ she said. ‘I just think it’s really cool that there’s so many events going on, and I hope to be able to go to as many of them as possible.’
