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Caitlin Clark's Rookie Contract Exposes The Glaring Holes In Basketball's Gender And Pay Disparity

Jared Russo
Jared Russo
Caitlin Clark's Rookie Contract Exposes The Glaring Holes In Basketball's Gender And Pay Disparity
Caitlin Clark, basketball's newest superstar and WNBA rookie, isn't even getting paid enough to live comfortably as an adult in her new home state Indiana.
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The 2024 WNBA draft is over, and as expected, Iowa superstar Caitlin Clark went number one overall to the Indiana Fever. A sensation in college, she broke a ton of records and was able to get the women's NCAA tournament to unprecedented heights, both in terms of ratings and impact.



Women's sports have never been bigger than they are right now, and yet, going into her rookie contract in the big leagues, Clark isn't even being paid enough to live comfortably in Indianapolis, her home base for at least the next few years.

Clark's base salary for her first league season will be $76,535, which according to a recent SmartAssest analysis is just 90 percent of the amount needed for a single working adult to enjoy a comfortable life in the Hoosier state. It wouldn't be until 2026 — in her third season making $85,873 — that she would hit that sweet spot.


Clark made a surprise appearance on "Saturday Night Live" before the draft


Now, with sponsorships, appearances fees, merchandise and other avenues of revenue, maximizing her off-court business interests won't be a problem for Clark, who's college career was estimated to be worth around $3 million thanks to such deals. But Clark is an exception, and the fact that the current leading college star Flau'jae Johnson's deals are valued at nearly one-third of Clark's highlights the disparity even among star athletes as they prepare for a life in the WNBA.



In search of greener pastures, it's not uncommon for women to go from college directly to foreign leagues, but while playing overseas can be lucrative, those big contracts have often been reserved for only the elite players, making even those dreams a hurdle for many. According to Front Office Sports, almost half of the WNBA's 144 players went to countries like Turkey, Italy, Israel and Australia in the off-season to continue plying their trade. However, a new media rights deal could change all of that, and bigger budgets could mean better incentives for the players.

And while the success of superstars like Caitlin Clark and Angel Reese continue to build the legacy of women's sports, there will always be online cheerleaders rooting in their corner.



[Image: YouTube]

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