Caitlin Clark took the WNBA by storm during her debut season, helping break viewing records, attendance records and on-court records – and her earnings were no exception.
The Indiana Fever star generated a record annual payday for a WNBA player of $11.1 million this year, according to Sportico.
However, just one percent of that staggering figure came from her $76,535 rookie salary.
The 22-year-old made her debut on the outlet’s list of the world’s highest-paid female athletes, alongside the likes of Coco Gauff and Simone Biles.
But the basketball sensation earned her spot on the list almost solely thanks to her off-court earnings.
Clark pocketed a large chunk of her $11million earnings in the first half of the year, when she was generating a huge windfall thanks to her NIL deals while still playing for Iowa when she led the Hawkeyes to the Final Four for a second consecutive year.
Caitlin Clark’s WNBA salary counts for just one percent of her staggering $11milliion earnings
Clark, pictured with boyfriend Connor McCaffery, has a stacked portfolio of endorsement deals
After declaring for the WNBA draft and being selected by the Fever with the No. 1 overall pick, Clark’s has continued to rake in the millions through brand deals – which prop up her league salary.
Clark boasts a stacked portfolio of sponsorships, including the likes of Nike, Gatorade, State Farm, Wilson, Hy-Vee, Xfinity, Gainbridge, Lilly and Panini.
Nike is her most valuable endorsement deal with the sportswear giant inking Clark to an eight-year agreement worth more than $3 million a year on average in April.
It was also revealed earlier this week that Clark reportedly charges a staggering $100,000 to speak at events for 30 minutes.
Clark isn’t the lone female athlete to be making the bulk of her livelihood outside of her sport. Simone Biles reportedly earns 99 percent of her earnings outside of the gym, while just 0.3 percent of freeskier Eileen Gu’s $22.1 million is made on the snow.
Clark is set to earn $338,056 over the course of her first four years in the WNBA with Indiana. She will sign a three-year contract with the option of a fourth year.
In year one, Clark will bring in $76,535. That goes up to $78,066 in year two before climbing further to $85,873 in year three. If the option for the fourth year is taken, Clark will then earn $97,582.
For comparison, Victor Wembanyama – the No. 1 men’s draft pick – earned $12,160,680 in his first season with the San Antonio Spurs.
Fans were left incensed when they discovered the disparity between the WNBA and NBA pay grades.
But Clark’s base salary is limited by the WNBA’s collective bargaining agreement, which was negotiated in 2020, before she started playing at Iowa.
The current CBA runs through 2027, though there is an option to end it sooner, and perhaps that will happen if Clark brings the sort of monster ratings to the WNBA that she did in the college game.
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