Mikyla Grant-Mentis signed a record-breaking deal Monday that makes her the highest-paid professional women’s hockey player in history.

The one-year contract with the Buffalo Beauts of the Premier Hockey Federation will see Grant-Mentis earn $80,000 for the upcoming season. The deal prompted responses from former PHF players as they reflected on the growth of the sport.

Blake Bolden, the first African-American player to compete in the PHF (then called the NWHL), called it “no small feat.”

“I remember making $8k per season with the Buffalo Beauts,” she wrote. Bolden played in the league from 2015-17 with the Boston Pride and from 2018-19 with the Beauts.

I remember making 8k/season with the @BuffaloBeauts , this is no small feat. Congratulations, @GrantMentis https://t.co/eeVnMsQx51

— Blake Bolden (@SportBlake) May 9, 2022

Kelley Steadman, a two-time IIHF world champion with Team USA, said she remembers making $250 per game and spending the majority of the money driving herself to games. Steadman played for the Boston Blades of the Canadian Women’s Hockey League from 2012-13 and for the Beauts from 2015-17.

“Awesome to see how much the PHF has grown,” she wrote.

I’ll do you one better @SportBlake
I remember making $250 per game and spending 3/4 of it on gas to drive myself to games 😂
Awesome to see how much the @PHF has grown. League is in good hands with @reagan_carey too 👍🏼 https://t.co/GuH5bHl0Fu

— kelley steadman (@ksteadman9) May 9, 2022

Anya Packer played for the Connecticut Whale from 2015-18, served as the NWHLPA executive director from 2018-21 and spent the 2021-22 season as the general manager of the Metropolitan Riveters.

She pointed to Grant-Mentis’ contract as a sign of the league’s progress.

“Every single player got us here,” she wrote. “It’s crazy to see the progress. I remember Season 1 when I only got paid when I dressed in a game…to see players signing living wage deals, multi-year deals…it’s impactful.”

This part. Every single player got us here, and it’s crazy to see the progress. I remember Season 1 when I only got paid when I dressed in a game… to see players signing living wage deals, multi year deals… it’s impactful. https://t.co/IsA7oxnxkD

— Anya Packer (She/Her) (@battaglinoa) May 9, 2022

Grant-Mentis’ deal is worth $80,000 and includes a PHF-maximum 10 percent bonus, the Associated Press reported. The record contract comes after the league upped the salary cap to $750,000 per team for the upcoming season.

When the league first began in 2015, the salary cap sat at $270,000 before salaries were slashed midway through the second season. The third and fourth seasons, from 2017-19, saw the salary cap decrease to $100,000.

Player salaries sat between $5,000 and $7,000 during the 2017-18 season – which included two preseason games, two practices a week, 16 regular season games and “up to two” playoff games.

The league increased the salary cap to $150,000 for the next two seasons before doubling it to $300,000 last season.

The salary cap increased again for the upcoming season, with a salary cap floor of $562,500 also being implemented. It’s unclear if there is an individual salary minimum.

Sidelined Phoenix Mercury star Satou Sabally is still down for the count, with the 27-year-old set to miss the 2026 season tip-off of Unrivaled 3×3 Basketball as she continues to recover from lingering concussion symptoms.

Sabally suffered the head injury in the fourth quarter of Game 3 of the 2025 WNBA Finals on October 8th, requiring assistance in exiting the matchup after visibly swaying upon standing.

The concussion forced Sabally to sit out the remainder of the postseason series against the eventual 2025 WNBA champion Las Vegas Aces.

Both Sabally and Unrivaled planned her return to Phantom BC for the league's second season, with the German national impressing in the offseason venture's debut run by averaging 15.3 points, 5.6 rebounds, and 1.9 assists per game.

Sabally is under a multi-year contract with the upstart, with Unrivaled promising that while the forward will be out "indefinitely," medical personnel will reevaluate her fitness "at a later date" as both parties hope to see her on the 3×3 court this season.

In her stead, Golden State Valkyries guard Tiffany Hayes — who suited up for Unrivaled's Laces BC last season — will join Phantom BC as Sabally's replacement.

The second season of Unrivaled 3x3 Basketball will tip off in Miami on January 5th, 2026.

Chicago Sky star Angel Reese is running it back, with the 23-year-old confirming plans to return to the Windy City for the 2026 WNBA season while participating in a USA Basketball training camp over the weekend.

"I'm under contract, so yes, I plan on returning to the Sky," Reese told reporters. "[I'm] continuing to talk to [head coach] Tyler [Marsh], and building that relationship with [GM] Jeff [Pagliocca] and Tyler."

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Her future with the Sky came into question in September, after the front office suspended Reese for half a game for making comments deemed "detrimental to the team" in a Chicago Tribune interview — comments she later apologized for, both publicly and privately.

Drafted by the Sky as the overall No. 7 pick in the 2024 WNBA Draft, the LSU alum remains under a rookie contract through 2026, with an option to extend through the 2027 season.

After leading the WNBA in both double-doubles (23) rebounds-per-game (12.6) in the 2025 season, Reese's late-season availability waned due to a back injury — though the forward now reports a full recovery from the knock.

"Angel is an ascending young talent in this league who's had two very, very good seasons here in Chicago," said Pagliocca after September's suspension. "Obviously, we went through what we did. I feel like we closed the chapter on it."

Overall No. 1-seed Nebraska's perfect season is officially over, after No. 3-seed Texas A&M volleyball ousted the Huskers in a five-set Elite Eight thriller on Sunday, booking the Aggies a program-first trip to the Final Four.

Undaunted by Nebraska's 33-0 record, the Aggies jumped out to a 2-0 lead before the Huskers stormed back to force a fifth-set tiebreaker — which A&M won 15-13, stunning a home crowd that hasn't seen a Cornhusker loss in Lincoln in more than three years.

"A lot of us are seniors, and we've been doing this for a really long time," said Aggie senior opposite Logan Lednicky. "And I think all the newbies came in ready to work, ready to grind."

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Though Nebraska boasts five national titles — good for third on the all-time NCAA volleyball championship list — the Huskers haven't won an NCAA volleyball tournament since 2017, falling three times in the final and once in the semifinals in recent years.

With fellow No. 3-seed Wisconsin's Sunday Elite Eight upset win over four-time champ No. 1 Texas, the 2025 Final Four will now feature two squads — A&M and No. 1-seed Pitt — hunting a first-ever title.

Meanwhile, No. 1-seed Kentucky and the Badgers will be aiming for a second national trophy after earning their debut Division I championships in 2020 and 2021, respectively.

How to watch the 2025 NCAA volleyball Final Four

Texas A&M will kick off the 2025 Final Four against Pitt at 6:30 PM ET on Thursday, before Kentucky takes on Wisconsin at 9 PM ET.

Both semifinals will air live on ESPN.

The WSL appears to have a serious 2025/26 title race on its hands, after No. 1 Manchester City cemented their six-point lead on six-time reigning champs No. 2 Chelsea with Sunday's lopsided 6-1 win over No. 8 Aston Villa.

City striker Bunny Shaw scored four times in the victory, bringing her all-time club tally to 103 goals — and becoming the first woman to reach the century scoring mark in the team's modern era.

"Coming into this game, I knew that if I scored it would have been a really good milestone for me," she told BBC Radio.

Manchester City have been perfect since dropping their 2025/26 season opener — a 2-1 loss to six-time champions Chelsea — with the Citizens now carrying a 10-match WSL winning streak into 2026.

While Chelsea and No. 3 Arsenal have ample ground to make up on the WSL table, both managed to keep pace by snagging their own multi-goal wins over the weekend.

After No. 10 Everton snapped the Blues' 34-game WSL unbeaten streak last week, goals by France international Sandy Baltimore and USWNT star Alyssa Thompson shot Chelsea past No. 7 Brighton 3-0 on Sunday.

Arsenal is also back to their winning ways, taking down Everton 3-1 on Saturday to hold off No. 4 Manchester United as captain Leah Williamson returned from injury.

How to watch the WSL in 2026

Now on holiday break, the WSL will return at 7:30 AM ET on January 10th, when Arsenal will kick off 2026 play against Manchester United at Emirates Stadium, airing live on ESPN+.