School basketball superstar Caitlin Clark is established to soar to new heights in the WNBA — but her rookie contract will see her pocket a portion of the thousands and thousands her male counterparts have manufactured on the court.
The University of Iowa legend, who has previously built background as the NCAA Division I basketball’s total top rated scorer, sealed a deal with the Indiana Fever soon after she was selected as the No. 1 in general select in the WNBA draft Monday.
The agreement will see Clark make $338,056 about the system of 4 several years, according to the WNBA’s collective bargaining agreement.
Underneath the 2024 WNBA rookie scale for the No. 1 – 4 draft picks, she’ll gain a foundation income of $76,535 for her initial 12 months, $78,066 the next 12 months, $85,873 the 3rd, and a fourth calendar year choice of $97,582.
In spite of her unprecedented star ability, Clark’s salary is a sliver of the eye-popping amount male athletes make in the NBA.
WNBA draft picks No. 2-4 — Stanford’s Cameron Brink who went to the Los Angeles Sparks, South Carolina’s Kamilla Cardoso with the Chicago Sky, Tennessee’s Rickea Jackson also with the Sparks — will make the very same pay out as Clark.
For comparison, San Antonio Spurs rookie star Victor Wembanyama — the No. 1 choose in very last year’s NBA draft — secured a $55 million four-calendar year contract that noticed him pocket $12.1 million in his very first period, in accordance to athlete deal tracker Spotrac.
Nevertheless Clark will probably rake in a lot more money as a result of endorsements and sponsorships, outraged simmered on social media about the evident income disparity in between the WNBA and NBA.
“TODAY” show host Hoda Kotb said Tuesday early morning: “They’ve by now marketed out games. She experienced the maximum scores, her teams and the Closing 4 had the best rankings — bigger than the Entire world Collection, higher than the NBA. So, I was like, what is she going to get compensated? Because finally, you can get a actual paycheck. Then I noticed it and was like, this just can’t be suitable.”
Co-host Jenna Bush Hager additional: “Honestly the gap is so jarring … We’re speaking about equal pay back. That ain’t even close.”
They observed that factors will very likely adjust in the potential as video games have by now sold out and viewership, which has historically lagged driving the NBA, has soared, partially on account of Clark’s superstar.
President Joe Biden claimed on social media Tuesday that “Females in sports activities go on to push new boundaries and encourage us all.”
“But proper now we’re seeing that even if you’re the greatest, ladies are not compensated their good share,” the president said. “It is time that we give our daughters the exact chances as our sons and make certain females are compensated what they ought to have.”
