Caitlin Clark needs to be compensated better.
That is the view of her agent, Erin Kane, who gave an interview to ESPN and made a series of stunning claims about the finances of WNBA contracts.
Clark is entering her second season for the Indiana Fever following a stellar debut season that saw her break the assists record and win Rookie of the Year.
Along with other stars in the rookie class last year, Clark helped to drive the WNBA to it’s most watched regular season in 24 years and its highest attendance in 20 years.
31 WNBA matches last season averaged over one million viewers and 22 of them involved Clark, with almost every fixture she played in broadcast on national television.
The 22-year-old’s team saw their attendance rise by 320 percent to a league-leading average of 17,000 per game.
Clark’s unprecedented impact on women’s basketball, and sports in general, has her agent demanding the WNBA hand Clark and other stars dramatically higher contracts.
“Will Caitlin Clark ever be paid by the WNBA what she’s really worth to that league? I don’t think that’s possible,” said Kane.
“She’s part of a larger player body. They all need to be paid more. She should be recognized for what she has done and what she’s brought to the league from an economic standpoint. It’s as simple as that.”
ESPNW shared Kane’s statement in a post on Instagram, which Clark was seen liking, indicating her approval of her agent’s comments.
Currently, Clark’s salary is expected to be just over $78,000 for the 2025 season, the maximum she can receive as part of her rookie deal.
Such contracts are based on the WNBA collective bargaining salaries with the Women’s National Basketball Players Association (WNBPA), but they are outdated and based on before the league had an uptick in interest and revenue.
The current range of salaries start from $64,154 to $241,984 for a player on a super maximum contract.
The desire for Clark’s contract to quickly be increased also stems from the impact she has had off the court, and is one that has been summarised by Dr Ryan Brewer, a economist at Indiana University Columbus.
“The numbers are so staggering,” Brewer told the IndyStar. “They don’t even seem real.
Brewer calculated that Clark is responsible for $36 million in economic impact to the city of Indianapolis and almost 27 percent of the league’s economic activity for the 2024 season, including attendance, merchandise sales, and television.
There is hope a drastic change to contract limits will come as soon as the WNBPA has opted out of its collective bargaining agreement (CBA), with the WNBA and the union expecting to strike a new deal soon.
The union said that players are seeking a “business model that reflects their true value, including “higher salaries,” among other benefits.
It comes after WNBA announced an 11-year media rights deal last year valued at $200 million a year, higher than the $60 million the league currently gets, something that should also increase salaries, according to Clark’s agent.
“The most important thing always has been getting WNBA players paid for what they do on the court,” Kane said.
“I’m very, very hopeful for this CBA negotiation that it will be progressive and move the line forward a lot.”
For now, stars like Clark will continue on their current deals but there is hope that by 2026, every WNBA star is in line for a huge pay rise.
