Candace Parker took a steep discount to join the Las Vegas Aces, Her Hoops Stats’ Richard Cohen reported Wednesday.

The two-time WNBA MVP officially inked her deal with the Aces on the opening day of the signing period Wednesday. Parker had made an average annual salary of $192,500 during her last two seasons with the Chicago Sky, but she signed a one-year, $100,000 contract with Las Vegas, sources told Cohen.

By bringing in a top-tier talent in Parker well below market value, the Aces leave themselves salary cap space to add to an already stacked lineup.

Las Vegas won the 2022 WNBA title with MVP A’ja Wilson, Finals MVP Chelsea Gray, All-Star Game MVP Kelsey Plum and Most Improved Player Jackie Young in the starting lineup. Now the team has added a two-time champion and seven-time All-Star to the mix.

“Candace is a future Hall of Famer, a proven champion, and most importantly, an incredible woman,” general manager Natalie Williams said in a statement. “She is a talented play maker, an exceptional leader, and an invaluable piece toward our quest for another championship title. We look forward to welcoming Candace and her family to Las Vegas.”

Adding another 𝗔𝗖𝗘 to the deck ♠️

It's 𝗢𝗙𝗙𝗜𝗖𝗜𝗔𝗟𝗟𝗬 𝗢𝗙𝗙𝗜𝗖𝗜𝗔𝗟 - we have signed Candace Parker.

Welcome to Las Vegas, @Candace_Parker! #ALLIN pic.twitter.com/eOkHLx88GP

— Las Vegas Aces (@LVAces) February 1, 2023

The Aces also signed Alysha Clark, herself a two-time WNBA champion, and Cayla George, a four-time champion in Australia’s WNBL, further bolstering their roster.

Parker spent the first 13 seasons of her career with the Los Angeles Sparks, winning a title in 2016, before she left to join her hometown Sky for the last two seasons. She helped lead them to a championship in 2021.

The 36-year-old forward will look to win another title with Las Vegas.

“Three definitely sounds better than two,” she said on NBA TV earlier this week. “But we know the process to get there. There are a lot of teams that I’ve been on that have looked great on paper, but you’ve got to do the work.”

The Tour de France Femmes confirmed its course for 2026 this week, setting up next year's event as the longest iteration of the race in the women's tour history.

The 2026 course will run in nine stages starting in Lausanne, Switzerland, on August 1st and continuing through the finish line in Nice, France, on August 9th.

Cyclists will cover a total of 1,175 kilometers, with 18,795 meters of climbing.

The course will feature three flat stages and three hilly stages as well as two mountain stages and one individual time trial, with riders tackling Mont Ventoux — an iconic climb from the men's event — for the first time.

Though 2026 will only by the fifth edition of the modern Tour de France Femmes, the race will make its debut in a standalone time slot one full week after the men’s race ends, with recent record viewership fueling the move to separate the races rather than continue the previous tactic of scheduling the two events back-to-back.

"We no longer need men for the Tour de France Femmes to exist,"  said race director Marion Rousse at Thursday's course unveiling. "There's no need to have the men's race as a platform to launch the women's race. Now people are waiting to see us."

"People have embraced us," Rousse continued. "The new dates, separate to the men, prove it."

This weekend's slate of international soccer features more than one blockbuster matchup, as some of the summer's top performers, including England and Brazil, begin the long process of preparing for the 2027 World Cup.

Reigning UEFA Women's Euro champions England will be hosting 2025 Copa América Femenina winners Brazil at the Etihad Stadium in Manchester on Saturday, when the Lionesses officially kick off their four-game Homecoming Series to close out 2025 play.

The match between world No. 4 England and No. 7 Brazil will serve as the first of the series of friendlies that will span the final two international breaks of the year, with the Lionesses closing out the opening pair of games against No. 15 Australia on Tuesday.

Elsewhere, while England fans will be enjoying the team's victory lap after their second-straight Euro title, other top UEFA competition are honing in on 2025 Nations League play.

Behind a long-range goal from winger Klara Bühl, No. 5 Germany snagged a narrow 1-0 victory over No. 6 France on Friday morning, taking the lead in the pair's two-leg semifinal.

The second Nations League semifinal round kicks off at 2 PM ET on Friday, when No. 1 Spain faces No. 3 Sweden live on Prime.

How to watch England vs. Brazil this weekend

England takes on Brazil at 12:30 PM ET on Saturday, with live coverage streaming on Prime.

The Wings have found their next sideline leader, as multiple reports on Thursday linked longtime University of South Florida (USF) head coach Jose Fernandez to the open position in Dallas.

Fernandez is still finalizing his contract with the WNBA team, with the 53-year-old exiting USF having led the Bulls for 25 years, making 10 NCAA tournament appearances along the way.

Calling his impact "profound," USF athletics CEO Rob Higgins acknowledged that Fernandez is leaving for a WNBA position in a Thursday statement.

"While this is a bittersweet moment for our program, it is a well-deserved opportunity for Jose," said Higgins. "We are incredibly proud of him."

Replacing Chris Koclanes after one year, Fernandez will become the fifth Dallas head coach in seven seasons, with the Wings trying to build a title-contending roster around 2025 WNBA Draft overall No. 1 pick and reigning Rookie of the Year Paige Bueckers.

Fernandez will also be the third WNBA hiring out of the college ranks in the last two years, joining Atlanta Dream boss Karl Smesko (FGCU) and LA Sparks manager Lynne Roberts (Utah).

Hoping to improve on a 13th-place 2025 finish — and make the WNBA Playoffs for the first time since 2023 — Dallas could claim a second straight No. 1 draftee next year, with the Wings entering 2026 with the highest odds to snag the top pick in the league's draft lottery.

The WNBA league office and the Players Association (WNBPA) exchanged escalating public statements this week, as both sides dispute terms surrounding a key issue in the ongoing CBA negotiations: revenue sharing.

"When the players opted out [of their CBA] a year ago, they made it clear they wanted a salary system that values their labor and allows them to grow with the business they are very clearly driving," WNBPA executive director Terri Jackson told ESPN in a statement this week, citing the vast disparity in revenue sharing percentages between the WNBA and the NBA.

Jackson continued by claiming that the WNBA intends to "run out the clock" and double down on a model that "intentionally undervalues the players."

Days ago, NBA commissioner Adam Silver said publicly that "[Revenue] share isn't the right way to look at it," pushing instead for salary increases in "absolute numbers."

WNBA leadership, however, denied that their current offer to players omits all revenue sharing, with the league calling the WNBPA's claim "incorrect and surprising," while indicating that an uncapped revenue sharing model "directly tied to the league's performance" is on the table.

"It is frustrating and counterproductive for the union to be making misrepresentations about our proposals while also accusing the league of engaging in delay," the WNBA's statement continued. "That is simply not true."

With both parties not seeing eye to eye, a resolution before the October 31st CBA deadline appears unlikely, though a formal request for an extension on negotiations is not currently in the cards.