Caitlin Clark’s $76,535 starting salary shows how far the WNBA still has to go to translate record viewership to player earnings

Now, a smaller number is defining the next chapter of the Iowa star’s career: $76,535, her starting salary in the WNBA. Clark was chosen by the Indiana Fever in the WNBA draft on Monday night with a four-year salary total of $338,056.

For the woman who set scoring and viewership records, reinvigorated college basketball, and was dressed by Prada for the sold-out draft in New York, that’s an astoundingly low number. (The median household income in Indiana, where Clark will be playing, is $67,173, according to the Census Bureau.) 

But it’s nothing new. 

The last time conversations around professional women’s players’ salaries reached a fever pitch was when Brittney Griner was detained in Russia in 2022. Griner played in Russia because of the WNBA’s low salaries; players often supplement their income overseas in the off-season. The highest-paid veteran players earn around $250,000 a year, according to Bloomberg. 

Commissioner Cathy Engelbert often reminds salary critics that the league is only 28 years old, compared to the 78-year-old NBA and 104-year-old NFL. (The starting salary for the No. 1 NBA draft pick? $10 million in year one and $55 million for four years.) The WNBA still has only 12 teams, although Engelbert says she’s working towards an expansion to 16 teams by the 2028 season. 

Some of this could change soon. The league’s collective bargaining agreement runs through 2027, but has an option for renegotiation at the end of 2024, Bloomberg reports. 

Catalina Fragoso/NBAE—Getty Images

For now, Clark’s salary shows how long it takes for a surge of interest in women’s sports and women’s basketball in particular to make its way to players directly. Millions of viewers and ad dollars don’t immediately translate to more money in all players’ pockets. Until the league catches up, there will be a disconnect between the stature of these record-breaking players in the national consciousness and their earning potential on the court. 

Clark is expected to supplement her on-court income with around $3 million in endorsement deals in her first year with partners like Nike and State Farm, the same as what she earned from name image likeness deals in college. (Not a pay cut from the NCAA to the WNBA, another misconception Engelbert has pushed back against.) Other stars like Angel Reese have also inked lucrative endorsements with brands like Beats by Dre and PepsiCo’s Starry. Not to mention the WNBA’s own brand partnerships ranging from Glossier (which did Clark’s draft-night makeup and shared the product lineup on Instagram) to haircare brand Mielle Organics and new over-the-counter birth control Opill. 

Not every player, however, has million-dollar deals to make up for low pay on the court. For all the money women’s basketball players are earning for brands, networks, and, yes, even the league, the top priority should be to make sure they see some of those profits—and soon. 

Emma Hinchliffe
emma.hinchliffe@fortune.com

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PARTING WORDS

“With the right market, I would definitely be super interested in that.”

—Tennis legend and venture capitalist Serena Williams when asked if she would ever consider acquiring a WNBA team, an investment she describes as an “overly safe bet”