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.
