Caitlin Clark Will Earn Less on Her WNBA Rookie Contract Than Three NBA Mascots
April 17, 2024; Indianapolis, IN, USA; Indiana Fever player Caitlin Clark, former Iowa Hawkeye standout and the no. 1 pick in the 2024 WNBA draft, speaks Wednesday, April 17, 2024, during an introductory press conference inside the entry pavilion at Gainbridge Fieldhouse. Mandatory Credit: Mykal McEldowney-USA TODAY NETWORK
The Celebrity Beat…
Caitlin Clark is one of the most famous athletes in the world right now, male OR female. And she just got picked #1 overall in the WNBA draft by the Indiana Fever. So she’s on her way, right?
Well, financially speaking, not so much. As a WNBA rookie, her salary will be pretty pitiful. Over the next four years, she’ll make $338,056. Here’s how that breaks down by year:
2024: $76,535
2025: $78,066
2026: $85,873
2027: $97,582
Meanwhile, Victor Wembanyama, the #1 overall pick by the San Antonio Spurs in 2023 NBA Draft, is making $55.1 million in his first four years.
The guy who makes the LEAST money in the NBA is the Toronto Raptors‘ Javon Freeman-Liberty, and his salary this year is $289,542.
But that’s not even the biggest indignity.
Check this out: Caitlin will be making less in her first four years as a pro than three NBA mascots make in a SINGLE YEAR.
As crazy is this sounds, the Denver Nuggets’ Rocky the Mountain Lion commands an annual salary of $625,000.
Harry the Hawk of the Atlanta Hawks pulls down $600,000 and Chicago’s Benny the Bull earns $400,000. That means they make more than ANYONE in the WNBA.
The three highest-paid players are DeWanna Bonner, Elena Delle Donne, and Skylar Diggins-Smith and they earn about $225,000 a year.
Luckily endorsements do help. Caitlin’s are earning her around $3.4 million.
The brass tax of it all is the NBA makes around $10 billion a year where the WNBA makes $200 million, which should explain the pay gap. I do wonder though if Caitlin is regretting denying Ice Cube‘s offer of $3 million to play in The Big 3.
SOURCES: Study Finds & People
