WNBA salaries don't come close to NBA salaries, and that much you probably already knew. The salary of No. 1 overall draft pick Caitlin Clark proves as much.
Clark, the Iowa star selected by the Indiana Fever, is due to earn $76,535 in her first year of a four-year contract that will pay her about $338,000. That is the going rate (with a slight annual increase) into which the WNBA's top draft pick is slotted.
Meanwhile, the minimum salary for players in the NBA averages about $1.1 million. So slightly more, some slightly less, but the minimum is a lot more than Clark will receive — at least, when it comes to her contract.
She no doubt will cash in on endorsements and will undoubtedly make more than the NBA minimum because of it. She probably already has, and if not, is well on her way.
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— Spotrac (@spotrac) April 15, 2024
All of this is based on league revenue, of course, and not performance, gender, etc. The NBA is about fifty years older than the WNBA. It is an established business with an outpouring of sponsorships. Broadcast fees for NBA games are about triple of the WNBA. And WNBA merchandise sales and gate receipts pale in comparison to the NBA.
Some WNBA teams don't draw flies, even less than G League crowds, but that very well could change with the likes of Clark and former LSU star Angel Reese (now of the Chicago Sky) taking center stage.
Clark and others in her draft class could also help push the WNBA to new heights. She has become sort of the Taylor Swift of basketball, drawing a crowd wherever she goes. In that sense, Clark may soon be able to help WNBA players negotiate higher salaries — as this season promises to generate more revenue than at any other time in league history.
How's that for star power?
