OT Ice Cube offers Caitlin Clark 5 million dollar contract to join BIG 3 League

[DirtybirdGA]

I wondered why he was trending, but didn't click on his name.

[JayMKE]

Don’t see why she can’t play Big3 and WNBA, $5M for 10 games is crazy can’t pass that up. Her playing vs the guys would be huge promotion of the WNBA, can’t see any way that hurts her. WNBA not prestigious enough on its own to warrant forgoing big opportunities, a lot of these WNBA players have to play overseas and Russia I believe invested the most into it so its been a big loss without having that option anymore. Could be opening the door for other women.

[lambchop]

Well, she is arguably the most popular current athlete in the United States. I'd be surprised if she takes $5M to play in a gimmick league. It's like PornHub paying Nicole Kidman $20M for a porno...I just doubt she takes it.

It's a horrible analogy considering that:
1) Nicole Kidman isn't a porn star, she is a highly successful actress
2) Nicole Kidman has earned far more than 20m throughout her career so this isn't the same financial windfall as it is for Caitlin
3) You may consider the big 3 to be a gimmick league, but at the end of the day its still half court competitive basketball with real stakes

Are you trying to argue that joining the big 3 will decrease both her marketability and endorsement earning power? I can see absolutely no drawback if she participates in both leagues and really the WNBA isn't in a position to play hardball with her here. That level of exposure is simply beneficial to all parties.

With that said, all the rumors, interviews, articles regarding the NBA trying to supress the Big 3 is real and I can see something fishy going on behind the scenes to prevent it from happening.

I could see the Big3 actually adding to her mystique because everyone knows that she will succeed in the wnba anyway. Doesn't mean she's going to be the goat, but she definitely wouldn't fail, like jimmer Fredette (I'm comparing college legends here). The Big3 would be a chapter of uncertainty and I'm sure the league could set her up to succeed with favourable matchups.

A documentary about her experience playing against pros and retired pros or even just some kind of youtube series would generate tons of clicks and really help her brand because it would make her truly unique.

[hauntedcomputer]

If she was prioritizing money she would have stayed in college another year

Yeah I would not be surprised if she's made more than $5 mil this year.

this smacks more of Ice Cube getting promo for his league and himself.

[Ryoga Hibiki]

How much is she making from NIL?

[lambchop]

Ice Cube should just make a deal with the whole WNBA. promote the hell out of it, lower the rims. Put a whole new spin on Womens basketball with talent like Caitlin Clark as the poster of it all.

Lowering the rim instantly discredits any league.

Sent from my SM-N975U using RealGM mobile app

Well the wnba is losing money every year and is subsidized by the nba.

Wnba players are already using smaller balls so its not the same game anyway. If there were more dunks due to lowered rims, I bet viewership would go up.

At any rate its not like they are doing well currently anyway....

I personally love the low rim idea, but the plausible argument I hear against it is that you're essentially creating a separate game and non wnba players wouldn't have access to that game because there simply aren't enough low hoops to go around. Of course, girls could just continue playing on 10 feet and then adjust to the 9 foot rim when they enter the league, but it would still be difficult and their shooting would take a hit. They'd also need to learn how to dunk, chase down block etc., cause there's more to it than just lowering the rim.

[JustBuzzin]

This honestly sounds like a good deal for her.

The WNBA is just not very popular. Sure she goes to her dream league growing up, but do we really think people are going to start watching WNBA games because of Clark?

Not for me. As an outsider, I'm not touching that league even with her in it.

I would tune in to see her in the big 3 though. That would make me more inclined to start following her. But yeah no, I know of her because of the hype. Still didn't touch her college games. Won't change when she's in the wnba.

Do you consider the money?

She's not even coming close to 1mil playing in the WNBA.

If she takes the 5mil and the brand grows significantly she's possibly looking at being co-owner down the line. She has more options in the big 3. The WNBA is what it is. Nobody really cares for that league.

[Impuniti]

Does sound like a juvenile career path from first glance, and maybe it is, but knowing in how bad a shape WNBA is, it brings at least a moment of reflect and thought what to do. I mean, if she serious about her place in history of the sport and all, she will play professional women basketball as it is, but this is a bit interesting.

How much money does Ice Cube have anyway? I get that 5 Mil. is probably not that much to him, but I could not imagine him being so successful to a point he is signing PRO athletes for year multi million dollar contracts...

It'll all come from investors and sponsors. 5 mil is a drop in the bucket to what signing one of the biggest names in basketball (almost biggest atm?) would do for an upstart league.

I hope you meant women only because otherwise

[JayMKE]

Battle of the sexes is one of the biggest marketing tropes there is and the only risk is for the guys to get embarrassed, its a win-win for female athletes even if they get smoked since it speaks to their courage and perseverance. They are ex NBA players who are way bigger than her not some high school team but real pros, if she shows she can hang it would be defining moment in women’s & American sports in general. If not, who cares? At least she tried and should be respected for it.

Its bonkers some of you guys are like don’t do it, the WNBA is not the equivalent to the NBA and something like this grows the game which indirectly will boost the WNBA too.

[joesha1698]

This makes no sense. How is she going to compete with men in this league? Someone explain this to me.

[Wolfgang630]

She should not pass this money up. You ain’t getting this in the wnba

[Asianiac_24]

This honestly sounds like a good deal for her.

The WNBA is just not very popular. Sure she goes to her dream league growing up, but do we really think people are going to start watching WNBA games because of Clark?

She makes more money in the Big 3 while also having better travel. The WNBA has shown us they don't really care about their players from the travel to the hotels it's all a joke for a professional athlete.


Clark please take this offer and don't think twice about it! She could be the face of that league and grow it bigger than the WNBA. Hell maybe she opens up opportunities for women coming out of college. They could totally become more popular than the WNBA.

I disagree. If there is anyone right now who can draw attention to the WNBA and get people to tune in, its Caitlin Clark. Personally speaking, if I know Caitlin Clark will be playing in town, I will buy a ticket just to watch her play. I can't say that for anybody else in the WNBA.

The problem with Clark playing in the Big-3 league is that I think she would look like a scrub there against men. That is not a good look for the WNBA and make it even a bigger laughing stock. For the sake of the WNBA, I hope she does not sign.

[xdrta+]

Is this the equivalent of the Globetrotters asking Chamberlain to play for them?

No, because Chamberlain wasn't eligible to be drafted into the NBA for another year. So he took 50k and played for the Globetrotters for one year.

[eminence]

How much is she making from NIL?

Approximately 3 million a year, but none of it is directly tied to the university, it's all her own sponsorship deals.

https://www.businessinsider.com/top-nil-earners-in-college-sports-ranked-2024-3#1-the-highest-paid-student-athlete-in-nil-history-is-the-son-of-nba-legend-le-bron-james-bronny-james-with-an-on3-nil-valuation-of-4-9-million-10

[EH15]

This makes no sense. How is she going to compete with men in this league? Someone explain this to me.

She is not accepting and this is just a publicity stunt by Cube as he's been trying to cash out on his Big 3 league for the past couple years. No one cares about the Big 3, now the story is on the Big 3.

[joesha1698]

This makes no sense. How is she going to compete with men in this league? Someone explain this to me.

She is not accepting and this is just a publicity stunt by Cube as he's been trying to cash out on his Big 3 league for the past couple years. No one cares about the Big 3, now the story is on the Big 3.

Makes sense.

[D.Brasco]

Does sound like a juvenile career path from first glance, and maybe it is, but knowing in how bad a shape WNBA is, it brings at least a moment of reflect and thought what to do. I mean, if she serious about her place in history of the sport and all, she will play professional women basketball as it is, but this is a bit interesting.

How much money does Ice Cube have anyway? I get that 5 Mil. is probably not that much to him, but I could not imagine him being so successful to a point he is signing PRO athletes for year multi million dollar contracts...

It'll all come from investors and sponsors. 5 mil is a drop in the bucket to what signing one of the biggest names in basketball (almost biggest atm?) would do for an upstart league.

I hope you meant women only because otherwise

Women it's not even a question, but yeah she's getting more press and clicks than most NBA stars now.

You think Cube is offering 5 million for charity? he wants in on that action.

[ConSarnit]

Battle of the sexes is one of the biggest marketing tropes there is and the only risk is for the guys to get embarrassed, its a win-win for female athletes even if they get smoked since it speaks to their courage and perseverance. They are ex NBA players who are way bigger than her not some high school team but real pros, if she shows she can hang it would be defining moment in women’s & American sports in general. If not, who cares? At least she tried and should be respected for it.

Its bonkers some of you guys are like don’t do it, the WNBA is not the equivalent to the NBA and something like this grows the game which indirectly will boost the WNBA too.

I disagree. I think it has disaster potential for the WNBA. She would not be able to hang in the BIG3 and it would finally put a cap on the “could a woman play in the NBA” argument. Currently there is an air of mystery about a woman playing in the NBA and it spawns arguments and interest on both sides. If she plays and get destroyed (I’d wager she would do very poorly) it closes the door on the argument and makes the WNBA look really bad by association. It hurts a league that to many already looks like a joke and only exists because the NBA subsidizes it. If she failed people would not forget and I’d have the odds of her failing miserably 10x more likely than her succeeding.

[KembaWalker]

I think you guys way overrate the level of play in the big 3. Half the dudes in this league don’t have the cardio or footspeed to keep up with Caitlin Clark if she ran from the baseline to one of her spots 30’ out more than a couple times. Cuttino Mobley and Mahmoud Abdul Rauf are not chasing her around the court. She’d get plenty of shots up and do fine

[nick p]

If Ice Cube puts together a BIG 3 team made up of Sabrina Ionescu A'ja Wilson and Breanna Stewart I would watch every single game!