OT Caitlin Clark's WNBA rookie contract breakdown released

[D.Brasco]

[Broadcaster]

Man. I’m a struggling self-employed musician and I make half that much. I did not realize how low WNBA salaries are.

[CumberlandPosey]

little less than 2000 a game for a 4 month 40 game season in her first year.how does that compare to other womens basketball leagues??

[ChipotleWest]

Man if I were her I would have gone to the Big 3 for 5 million.

[xxSnEaKyPxx]

This can all be easily explained. For one, thats a pretty great paycheck for 4-5 months of work. But also, sports are an entertainment business. In entertainment, you make what you bring in.

If one musician plays for 20 people at a bar and another musician plays for 75,000 at an arena, should the one playing for 20 people at a bar be paid the 10 million per show Taylor Swift makes? They are doing the same job...

I think people just want to be outraged about stuff these days.

(This isn't directed at anyone here, just seen countless posts on Twitter with people outraged over this.)

[GSWFan1994]

It's indeed a very low figure for a pro, but it is what it is, there isn't demand for this product, unfortunately that's how the market works.

Now if she brings a huge demand for the game, there are already reports that the league is seeking to double the revenues of their broadcasting rights (link), then these contracts would skyrocket in the coming decade.

I think it's not far-fetched to say the WNBA contracts could increase by 10 times until the end of the decade... and, even then, they would be grossly underpaid relative to the NBA players.

Let's see if she can be the one to break this "cycle".

[sikma42]

The WNBA’s popularity is really on the upswing. Just tried to buy Liberty tickets and seems like they are selling well.

I think they will get the salaries up in the next 4-7 years and players will be getting at least a couple hundred thousand. The game needs that and an expansion and I think it’s ready to take off.


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[OhMyGodBecky]

And this is why most of them also go overseas to play.

[KembaWalker]

This is the legacy of Diana Taurasi and all the bums trashing on her. They did nothing for the product. Caitlin will put them on her back

[_jin]

little less than 2000 a game for a 4 month 40 game season in her first year.how does that compare to other womens basketball leagues??

Average salary in the french women league is €60K but it's after taxes and they play a lot less games (22 regular season + 7 at most in the playoffs).

[TheSuzerain]

This is the legacy of Diana Taurasi and all the bums trashing on her. They did nothing for the product. Caitlin will put them on her back

Yeah. Middle class about to get a major raise thanks to Clark.

[sol537]

WNBA needs to continue to embrace social media outreach and to heavily market top young players like Caitlin Clark. The audience will continue to grow every year… they need to hire a young, energetic marketing guru who pushes all the right buttons in community building.

[Tor_Raps]

All stories are like this in the beginning. People should go check out what Michael Jordan earned for 90% of his nba career relatively before things really exploded.

If the WNBA's popularity is sustainable then they will also see the same uptick.

[DBurks2818]

Man. I’m a struggling self-employed musician and I make half that much. I did not realize how low WNBA salaries are.

Yeah, but they're getting paid that for only a slightly more than summer's work, which is great.

[PlatinumState]

She's gonna make up for it doing ads and playing in europe in the offseason. Stars get paid around 500k in a season in europe and 250k in the wnba after their rookie contract

[jc23]

Fever games are a very hot ticket.

[GSWFan1994]

And this is why most of them also go overseas to play.

The WNBA season is very short compared to their counterparts... they will always go play overseas if that's the case.

I mean, if the NBA season lasted for 4 months, a lot of the players would play abroad as well.

[Wingy]

I
I think it's not far-fetched to say the WNBA contracts could increase by 10 times until the end of the decade... and, even then, they would be grossly underpaid relative to the NBA players.

Let's see if she can be the one to break this "cycle".

I think you’re right. Not compared to the men’s game of course, but I think this is the generation that’s going to make salaries start to take a huge step (relatively speaking) and have the earlier vets thinking holy ****! I wish I could’ve made that. Akin to the 80s/90s players, and how things started to take off in the 00s and continuing to today. Again, relative scale.

[Pointgod]

How much was she making in College? She’s obviously bankable. I think the WNBA can be popular they just don’t have any marketing behind it.

[SelfishPlayer]

She'll simply have to build that league up like Wilt, Magic & Bird, Jordan, LeBron & Steph have done the NBA.