Caitlin Clark took the WNBA by storm during her debut season, helping break viewing, attendance 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 sports.
However, only one percent of that staggering figure came from her rookie salary of $76,535.
The 22-year-old made her debut on the media’s list of the highest-paid female athletes in the world, alongside figures such as Coco Gauff and Simone Biles.
But the basketball sensation earned his spot on the list almost solely through his off-court earnings.
Clark pocketed a big chunk of his $11 million earnings in the first half of the year, when he was generating a huge windfall thanks to his NIL deals while still playing for Iowa when he led the Hawkeyes to the Final Four for the second year. consecutive.
Caitlin Clark’s WNBA salary represents just one percent of her eye-popping $11 million in earnings.
Clark, pictured with her boyfriend Connor McCaffery, has a portfolio full of endorsement deals.
After declaring for the WNBA draft and being selected by the Fever with the first overall pick, Clark’s has continued to rake in millions through brand deals, which prop up her league salary.
Clark has an extensive portfolio of endorsements, including companies such as Nike, Gatorade, State Farm, Wilson, Hy-Vee, Xfinity, Gainbridge, Lilly and Panini.
Nike is his most valuable endorsement deal with the sportswear giant, which signed Clark to an eight-year deal 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 is not the only athlete who earns most of her living outside of sports. Simone Biles reportedly makes 99 percent of her earnings outside the gym, while just 0.3 percent of free skier Eileen Gu’s $22.1 million is earned on the snow.
Clark will earn $338,056 over the course of her first four years in the WNBA with Indiana. He will sign a three-year contract with the option of a fourth year.
In the first year, Clark will earn $76,535. That increases to $78,066 in the second year before rising even further to $85,873 in the third year. If the fourth-year option is picked up, Clark will earn $97,582.
By comparison, Victor Wembanyama, the top men’s draft pick, earned $12,160,680 in his first season with the San Antonio Spurs.
Fans were outraged when they discovered the disparity between the WNBA and NBA salary ratings.
But Clark’s base salary is limited by the WNBA collective bargaining agreement, which was negotiated in 2020, before she began playing at Iowa.
The current collective bargaining agreement runs through 2027, although there is an option to end it sooner, and perhaps that will happen if Clark brings the type of monster grades to the WNBA that she achieved in the college game.