College basketball sensation Caitlin Clark will earn less than six figures in her rookie season with the Indiana Fever, reigniting debate over whether professional women athletes in the U.S. are fairly paid.
Clark, this year's No. 1 draft pick in the WNBA, will have a starting salary of $76,535 and earn roughly $338,000 over the four-year contract she signed with the Fever. The second, third and fourth picks in this year's draft will also earn $76,535 their first year, according to the league's collective bargaining agreement. The base annual pay for all four athletes will see only a modest rise over the next few years — $78,066 in 2025, $85,873 in 2026 and $97,582 in 2027.
Lower-ranked WNBA draft picks earn less, according to a wage scale outlined in the players' agreement with the league. Players are also eligible for bonuses at the end of the season, based on performance. For example, the "Rookie of the Year" award comes with a $5,150 bonus.
The WNBA did not immediately respond to CBS MoneyWatch's request for comment on how it sets athlete salaries.
Clark's earnings are not limited to her WNBA salary. She's expected to sign sponsorship deals that will likely lead to her earning far more than than the five figures she'll get for playing basketball. Already, her name image and likeness is valued at $3 million, a figure that's expected to grow, while she has already done TV commercials for advertisers including Gatorade, State Farm and Nike.
Still, Clark's base pay pales in comparison to her counterparts in the NBA. Rookie Victor Wembanyama, the first pick in last year's NBA draft, made more than $12 million for the 2023-24 season, his first year in the NBA, according to Spotrac, a site tracking sports statistics. Her salary is roughly equivalent to that of a first-year or junior New York-based attorney at a national law firm, according to a posting on job site Indeed.
With some online commentators expressing surprise at Clark's pay, President Biden weighed in Tuesday on the issue of pay disparity in sports.
"Women in sports continue to push new boundaries and inspire us all. But right now we're seeing that even if you're the best, women are not paid their fair share," he said in a post on X (formerly known as Twitter). "It's time that we give our daughters the same opportunities as our sons and ensure women are paid what they deserve."
To be sure, the debate around what female athletes "deserve" continues. The NBA, with its long history and billions in annual revenue, stands in stark contrast to the WNBA, a smaller league launched in 1996 that generates an estimated $200 million in revenue each year, as reported by Just Women's Sports.
When it comes to individual player compensation, Greg Bouris, a sports management professor at Adelphi University, pointed out that there are financial limitations. He mentioned that the WNBA must significantly increase its revenue for player salaries to see any meaningful growth. "It all boils down to economics," Bouris explained.
Despite Clark's impressive performance in college basketball, transitioning to the professional arena poses a new challenge. This is one reason why both the NBA and WNBA have salary caps for rookies.
"They are entering a league where they will compete against the best basketball players globally and have yet to prove themselves," Bouris emphasized. "Success at one level does not guarantee success at another."
Nevertheless, Clark is anticipated to bring excitement to the league, much like she did by attracting a larger TV audience to the women's NCAA tournament than the men's tournament.
"Elevating the Entire League"
"With the incredible momentum and media coverage surrounding her, she is poised to make a significant impact on the WNBA. This presents a great opportunity for the league to grow and thrive. She's truly a game-changer," Bouris commented. "Her influence will benefit everyone in the league, elevating the entire organization."
The Women's Sports Foundation, a group advocating for women in sports established by tennis icon Billie Jean King, has highlighted the issue of low salaries in the WNBA. This is why many top players, including WNBA standout Brittney Griner, play overseas during the WNBA off-season to supplement their income. Griner, who was recently detained in Russia, has spoken out about the pay disparity in an interview, emphasizing the financial motivations for playing abroad.
Although the WNBA has made progress towards pay equity in recent years, disparities persist in professional basketball and other sports, with female tennis players being a notable exception. In the NBA, the minimum salary for rookies in the 2022-23 season stood at $953,000, as reported by Spotrac.
Reflecting on the situation, Ketra Armstrong, a sports management professor at Michigan University, expressed that while Clark and other WNBA players deserve higher pay considering their skills, the issue of underpayment is widespread within the league.
"It's a structural issue, and you can't look at salaries in isolation or compare them to how much the men make because there are stark differences there," a spokesperson for the WNBA told CBS MoneyWatch in emphasizing the significant gap in revenues between the NBA and the WNBA.
Increasing salaries for WNBA players will require the league to secure larger broadcast deals, more lucrative corporate sponsorships, and boost ticket and merchandise sales. However, the spokesperson sees the current moment as a potential turning point for the league.
"The impact of players like Caitlin Clark is undeniable. There is a newfound energy and excitement surrounding the WNBA," she said. "If we can drive a surge in ticket sales for all WNBA teams, increase merchandise sales, enhance media exposure, and attract more investment, we will begin to see growth in revenue."
