Caitlin Clark Will Only Make $76,500 a Year Playing in the WNBA

Caitlin Clark after being selected first overall pick by the Indiana Fever during the 2024 WNBA Draft at Brooklyn Academy of Music in New York on April 15.

(Bloomberg) — Caitlin Clark will get around $76,500 on the court — and $3 million off it — during her first year as an WNBA player, in a rare example of a rookie able to bolster a low starting salary.

Clark signed with the Indiana Fever last night during the 2024 WNBA Draft. Over her first four years, she’ll earn about $340,000.

The NCAA Division I all-time leading scorer will also receive roughly $3 million over the next year in advertising deals, according to data tracker On3.

Unlike incoming college stars such as Clark, Angel Reese, Cameron Brink and Kamilla Cardoso, many other rookies won’t manage to nail lucrative advertising deals. Even for experienced stars, the highest paid will only make about $250,000 on the court.

The low salaries stem from a collective bargaining agreement struck in January 2020. However, this could potentially change over the next season. The contract, which runs through 2027, has an option that allows either side — the league or the players’ union — to notify the other at the end of the 2024. WNBA commissioner Cathy Engelbert previously told Bloomberg that talks will begin on negotiations to uphold or abandon the contract.

Caitlin Clark

The league’s ratings rose about 20% last season and are expected to get another big bump with the arrival of stars such as Clark and Reese. Clark helped draw more fans to the sport with with her final three games averaging over 12 million viewers, according to ESPN.

The new athletes will also come with new advertising partners from endorsements they signed in college. Louisiana State University’s Reese, for example, has deals with Apple’s Beats by Dre, Goldman Sachs and Starry soda — owned by Pepsi.

The expected ratings boost will come as WNBA prepares to negotiate a new media deal. The WNBA’s current media partners are Disney/ESPN, Scripps, CBS and Amazon.

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The league is also on the verge of expanding. The Golden State Warriors were awarded an expansion team that will begin play in 2025. The team, which doesn’t have a name yet, will be the WNBA’s 13th franchise. The Warriors will pay a record $50 million expansion fee over the course of 10 years, according to Sportico.

The league is currently in the process of adding another team as well. In March, CBC News reported Larry Tannenbaum was in pursuit of what would be the league’s 14th team. Tannenbaum is the chairman of Maple Leaf Sports and Entertainment, the parent company which owns the Toronto Raptors and Maple Leafs and Toronto FC.

Adding teams would solve an issue the league has had where college players are drafted to a club and do not make the roster. Last year of the 36 players elected in the WNBA draft, only 15 made the opening day rosters for their club.

–With assistance from Jennah Haque.

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