Indiana Fever guard Caitlin Clark made just $76,535 as a rookie, but she was responsible for 26.5 percent of the WNBA’s revenue last season, according to Ryan Brewer, associate professor of finance at Indiana University in Columbus. (Jessica Hill/Associated Press)
The champagne hadn’t even dried after the The New York Liberty won the WNBA championship when the players’ association announced it would opt out of the league’s collective bargaining agreement, which was set to expire in 2027.
A dramatic increase in revenue due primarily to the emergence of the Indiana Fever guard Caitlin Clark and other high-profile recruits have urged players to recognize that they aren’t getting what they believe is a fair share. The CBA now ends after the 2025 season, blowing up a pay scale that pegged the average salary at around $120,000, with a rookie minimum of $64,154 and a veteran maximum of $241,984.
“The numbers are so staggering,” said Ryan Brewer, an associate professor of finance at Indiana University in Columbus, when interviewed by the star of indianapolis put a price on Clark. “They don’t even look real.”
Clark was responsible for 26.5% of the WNBA’s economic activity for the 2024 season, including presencesales of merchandise and television. One in six tickets sold at a WNBA arena can be attributed to Clark.
Total WNBA TV viewership thanks to Clark increased by 300%, and 45% of the total broadcast value came from Fever games.
WNBA merchandise sales increased 500%, with Clark ranking No. 1 followed by Chicago Sky rookie. Angel Reese.
The Fever’s regular season attendance averaged a record 17,036 per game, and the team’s total attendance of 340,715 was also a record.
Clark’s regular season games were watched by 1.2 million viewers on average, 200% more than games she did not play.
It’s no wonder women’s players opted out of the current CBA, with the Women’s National Basketball Players Assn. succinctly stating its position with a video addressed to X which proclaimed: “It’s business. We went out“.
Fever guard Caitlin Clark (22) drives to the basket against Las Vegas Aces guard Jackie Young (0) during a September 11 game in Indianapolis. (Darron Cummings/Associated Press)
THE WNBA signs new media rights deal in July, worth $200 million a year, more than three times the current amount. However, one question that will be raised during CBA negotiations is whether the surge in fan interest and revenue will continue or wane over time.
This is why the WNBA media rights deal pales in comparison to the WNBA media rights deal. The NBA’s new TV deal with Disney (ABC and ESPN), Comcast (NBC and Peacock) and Amazon (Prime Video). These outlets will broadcast the league’s nationally televised games for 11 seasons starting in 2025-2026 and the NBA will receive approximately $76 billion.
“As this continues to materialize, the corporate side, the commercial side, not the players’ union, but the other parties, are going to continue to monitor to see if these numbers can stabilize and sustain rather than just increase and fall again,” Brewer said. said. “That’s what they’re afraid of. And that’s what’s keeping the numbers low.”
Clark, meanwhile, is doing quite well financially despite her low salary. Sportico published a list of highest paid female athletesand Clark was ranked No. 10, just behind Simone Biles. Clark, the only basketball player on the list, earned $11.1 million in 2024. (Topping the list for the second year in a row was the tennis star Coco Gauffwho won $30.4 million in prizes and sponsorships.)
Endorsements make up the bulk of Clark’s income. She receives $3.5 million per year through an eight-year contract with Nike and also has deals with Gatorade, Gainbridge, Hyvee, Xfinity, Wilson, Buick and State Farm Insurance.
WNBA star Caitlin Clark is introduced to fans Saturday during an NBA game between the Phoenix Suns and Golden State Warriors in Phoenix. (Rick Scuteri/Associated Press)
Of course, most WNBA players only have a small fraction of this type of sponsorship income. They have to rely on their salaries, which many supplement by playing overseas during the WNBA offseason.
Only 9.3% of league revenue, or $200 million in 2024, was spent on player salaries, according to Bloomberg. That’s less than $20 million. Meanwhile, NBA players share 50% of their league’s revenue, which in 2023 represented $5.3 billion out of $10.6 billion.
Few object to more of the WNBA’s revenue going toward player salaries, and precise numbers will be determined during CBA negotiations a year from now. Until then, the best evidence players can point to is continued growth in attendance, television viewership and merchandise sales.
And Clark’s contribution will undoubtedly remain a major factor.
