WNBA disaster for Caitlin Clark

The WNBA's popularity has soared thanks to the star power of Caitlin Clark, but the Indiana Fever point guard might be missing out on the financial rewards of the growth of women's basketball.

The league has benefitted immensely financially as well, but that added revenue is unlikely to have made its way into Clark’s pocket. It’s an uncomfortable position for the Indiana Fever and the WNBA to navigate in the years to come.

Clark’s agent recently sat down with ESPN to talk about her client and other WNBA stars’ compensation. Erin Kane works for Excel Sports Management, who represents Clark, Napheesa Collier, Arike Ogunbowale, and other players. She thinks Clark and a lot of her other clients are getting shortchanged.

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Kane told ESPN, “Will Caitlin Clark ever be paid by the WNBA what she’s really worth to that league? I don’t think that’s possible.”

Kane continued, “she should be recognized for what she has done and what she’s brought to the league from an economic standpoint. It’s as simple as that.”

Clark’s salary is shockingly low to those who might not be familiar with WNBA finances. The Fever star is going to make a little more than $78,000 in her second professional season, as noted by Spotrac. This represents a slight increase from her rookie salary of $76,000.

The Indianapolis Star spoke with an economist at Indiana University Columbus, who tried to quantify how much money Clark brought to the WNBA as a rookie. They noted that she brought in an estimated $36 million to the city of Indianapolis and was responsible for over a quarter of the league’s “economic activity” for the 2024 season. This includes attendance, memorabilia and television related income.

The WNBA will continue to benefit from Clark’s presence for years to come. During the summer of 2024, the league agreed to an 11-year media rights deal that will pay them an estimated $2.2 billion, according to AP News. They wasted no time cashing in on the influx of attention they received, thanks to Clark.

Sports fans have seen this movie before. The NCAA used to make millions of dollars off of student athletes without them receiving a cut. We’ve also seen this phenomenon before in the NBA, with one of the game’s most legendary players.

Although the numbers were different back in the 1980s and 1990s, when Michael Jordan was at hit apex, he was still being vastly underpaid for most of his NBA career. As Spotrac noted, his average salary from 1988-1994 was just over $3 million.

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However, during Jordan’s last two seasons with the Chicago Bulls, he earned over $30 million per season. This is obviously an enormous jump, and it begs the question whether something like this would be possible for Clark as time goes on.

Clark isn’t going to receive an increase any time soon, it appears. She’s on a rookie scale contract for the first four seasons of her career. It’s unlikely that Indiana will ever let her hit free agency, so she may be in line for a record extension.

Since the economics of the WNBA landscape have changed dramatically, there’s a chance that the next collective bargaining agreement will look much different as well. Kane told ESPN, “I’m very, very hopeful for this CBA negotiation that it will be progressive and move the line forward a lot.”

While it would make sense for WNBA salaries to increase significantly given the league’s success, there’s no guarantee. Colin Salao of Front Office Sports wrote, “there is no assurance that players under contract beyond 2026 will receive salary increases equivalent to whatever cap spike comes next offseason.”

It’s going to be fascinating to see how much this issue affects Clark personally, and the WNBA as a whole. Sportico reported in December 2024 that Clark made around $11 million in endorsements, and that her WNBA salary was one percent of her total 2024 income. If she continues to make that much money off the court, how much she makes on it might not matter.

While the next CBA’s terms and conditions may not matter all that much for Clark, they could matter notably for other WNBA stars. Since not everyone is raking in the same amount of money as Clark from advertisements, many do rely on the WNBA’s salary as their primary source of income.

There may be a standoff between the WNBA Players Association and the league in the coming months, and the Caitlin Clark effect is going to be at the center of the discussion. It’ll be fascinating to see who blinks first.

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