Caitlin Clark’s new WNBA salary went viral, and even President Biden is taking notice.
Clark, selected No. 1 overall by the Indiana Fever on Monday in the 2024 WNBA Draft, is set to make $76,535 her rookie year and $338,056 over the next four seasons, according to Spotrac.
WNBA salaries have been a topic for years — often forcing players to go overseas to play in the WNBA offseason — but Clark’s rise in stardom has brought new interest — and opinions — to the sport.
“Women in sports continue to push new boundaries and inspire us all,” Biden wrote on X. “But right now we’re seeing that even if you’re the best, women are not paid their fair share.
“It’s time that we give our daughters the same opportunities as our sons and ensure women are paid what they deserve.”
Clark was taken No. 1 overall by the Indiana Fever on Monday night after leading Iowa to back-to-back national championship game appearances.
For comparison, Victor Wembanyama, the No. 1 pick of the Spurs in the 2023 NBA Draft, will make $55.1 million over four years.
The Hawkeyes’ loss to South Carolina in the national championship game was viewed by 18.7 million people and peaked at 24 million — the most-watched hoops broadcast of any kind since the 2019 men’s championship game between Texas Tech and Virginia.
However, Clark’s NCAA popularity will do little to impact her rookie salary given the current financial realities of the WNBA.
The WNBA currently makes $60 million a season from their TV contracts ESPN, CBS, ION and Amazon, per Front Office Sports.
The NBA makes $2.7 billion annually from their TV contracts with Turner and ESPN.
Also, NBA players get 50 percent of revenue from broadcast rights and ticket sales per the deal with the union.
WNBA players only get 50 percent of the league’s excess money after it hits a certain revenue target.
Here's everything to know about Caitlin Clark and her surprising WNBA salary
Caitlin Clark, college basketball’s all-time leading scorer and new face of the organization unsurprisingly went No. 1 in the WNBA draft to the Indiana Fever.
She hasn’t even played a game yet, but Clark has already become one of the biggest names in the WNBA.
Her first-round pick helped to drive a 304% increase in viewership for the WNBA draft this week. But the conversation around Clark certainly didn’t stop after she signed for 4-year deal with the Indiana Fever.
Clark will earn $338,056 over four years, per the league’s collective bargaining agreement, with the Indiana Fever.
In comparison, the top pick in the 2023 NBA draft, Victor Wembanyama, landed a $55 million deal.
Clark then signed a $28 million, eight-year contract with Nike, which David Portnoy called “STEALING” on Twitter.
“8 years 80 million min is her worth and that’s still prob too cheap,” Portnoy continued. “Hope she has an early opt out if they don’t pay up when she blows through this deal.”
Despite the relatively low numbers, the deal is the largest sponsorship contract for a female basketball player on record.
Television personality Hoda Kotb was noticeably distraught about the pay gap during the “Today” show Tuesday.
“For somebody who is now the face of women’s basketball, it seemed kind of ridiculous,” Kotb said.
Kotb called it “disturbing” and brought it up multiple times throughout the morning.
Former ESPN journalist and current contributor to The Atlantic Jemele Hill was displeased with the discourse surrounding WNBA salaries and posted a lengthy X post on the subject.
“I’m already annoyed by this conversation because for years, WNBA players have fought for more money. And when they were outspoken, so many of y’all told them to shut up or reminded them how they had no value The NBA has had 50+ years of investment, media coverage, etc. After 27 years, the WNBA will not be the current NBA. So stop comparing them,” Hill wrote on social media.
“Weaponizing this information against WNBA players is another form of misogyny. These women have been dreaming of playing professionally in front of American audiences their whole lives,” Hill continued. “Instead of clowning and reminding them of what they’re not — buy the merchandise, go to the games, and watch the games on television.
WNBA commissioner Cathy Engelbert recently told CNBC the hope is “to double our rights fees” when they expire in 2025.
“Women’s sports rights fees have been undervalued for too long, so we have this enormous opportunity at a time where the media landscape is changing so much,” Engelbert said.
Even before Clark’s arrival, the WNBA saw ratings growth by averaging 505,000 viewers per game last season — their most in 21 years, per Fox News.
The WNBA draft on Monday night, which also included Stanford’s Cameron Brink and LSU’s Angel Reese, shattered previous ratings records with 2.46 million viewers on ESPN.
Follow along with The Post’s coverage of WNBA No.1 draft pick Caitlin Clark
- Caitlin Clark goes No. 1 to Fever in 2024 WNBA Draft: ‘Dreamed of this moment’
- Caitlin Clark has wild night celebrating WNBA Draft with ‘favorite person in the world’
- You won’t believe how cheap some Indiana Fever tickets are to see Caitlin Clark
- Where Indiana Fever stand in 2024 WNBA odds after adding Caitlin Clark
- Caitlin Clark’s all-Prada outfit at WNBA draft had boyfriend Connor McCaffery drooling
Clark will make her WNBA debut on May 14 against the Connecticut Sun and 36 of the Fever’s 40 games will be featured on national television.
Hoda Kotb of “Today,” Steelers quarterback Russell Wilson and former ESPN columnist Jemele Hill were among the other famous names to weigh in on Clark’s WNBA contract.
