BIG 3: Takeaways from Caitlin Clark's $5 million offer

Caitlin Clark is not only dominating on the court, but she is also dominating the news headlines. Yesterday, TMZ broke the news that Ice Cube and the BIG3 offered her a $5 million record-breaking deal.

After the news was reported, Ice Cube, the BIG3 co-founder, responded on social media to set the record straight and confirm the reports.

Today was a good day?

Ice Cube expressed how the skeptics didn't believe in his league or the additions of Nancy Lieberman and Lisa Leslie. They were the first woman head coaches in the league and they found championship success early. To date, there has never been a woman head coach in the NBA or any of the other Big 4 professional men's sports leagues.

Since the BIG3 was founded in 2017, Cube believes that the NBA is trying to suffocate the success of his league and has looked for ways to get an edge. The 3-on-3 league has been a place of resurrection for some former NBA players whose careers were fading. Joe Johnson, Amare Stoudemire, Xavier Silas, and Josh Childress were all players who washed out of the NBA and the BIG 3 helped them get a second look.

As of now, Clark has not responded or commented about the offer due to Iowa getting set to play Colorado this weekend. After the news broke, there were quite a few perspectives on the monumental offer from the BIG3.

Here are some takeaways from the Caitlin Clark offer.

Ice Cube strategic plot

Cube continues to find ways to help the BIG3 remain relevant and competitive rating-wise. The idea to offer Clark $5 million to play eight regular season games and two playoff games is smart for the seven-year league.

The Iowa superstar has broken the all-time scoring record (men's and women's), is a lock for the No. 1 overall pick in the WNBA Draft, and is one of the best scorers the world has seen. If she did decide to participate in the BIG3, that would improve their viewership even more than their past season record of 392,250, which topped the NBA summer league on ESPN (309,000) and MLB on FS1 (369,000).

Clark's ability to score from anywhere on the floor would help her hold her own in any league. The four-point shot in the BIG3 would be a warm-up shot for her and she would bring the energy to any arena.

Caitlin Clark's generational talent

If the 6-foot guard accepted the offer, her presence would increase ticket sales and merchandise sales. The addition of her could generate new TV deal opportunities for a league that Cube believes is being blacklisted.

Offering this deal is genius if the focus is solely on his league because it paints him in the light of continuing to provide diversity, equity, and inclusion. CC is the biggest athlete right now, this deal puts them in a position to compete with the NBA for eyeballs. The media attention that she generates is something that the BIG3 needs to grow moving forward.

Trying to sign the Iowa native is also strategic because of her endorsements from State Farm, Gainbridge, and Gatorade, potentially growing corporate opportunities for the BIG3.

Damaged WNBA relationship

Despite the groundbreaking offer by the 3-on-3 league, this gesture could negatively impact the WNBA. Their season overlaps with the BIG3 and it would force CC to pick a league.

Every season, the WNBA continues to grow its brand and this April, the league will take another step forward with a major draft class approaching. Clark is the headliner but college stars like Cameron Brink, Rickea Jackson, Kamilla Cardoso, Aaliyah Edwards, Angel Reese, and Alissa Pili bring tremendous talent and built-in fanbases.

It's great to hear that the BIG3 is trying to provide more opportunities for women, but this move would hurt the WNBA. The league and the WNBAPA are trying to find ways to help players avoid playing overseas (unless they want to) as some WNBA players have to play all year round to make a living.

It's great that the BIG3 is in a position to offer Clark $5 million but if she were to take the deal, it would highlight just how paltry WNBA salaries are by comparison and strongly undermine the league.

The BIG3 also doesn't provide nearly the same amount of competition that the WNBA will provide. Even though the BIG3 is a fun league to watch, it's a 3-on-3 league that thrives on former players coming out of retirement. Yes, some players try to jump-start their professional career but the WNBA will provide more of a competitive route for Clark and other players that come after her.

Offering Clark $5 million is a savvy business move, but the reality is her rookie season will take the WNBA to another level and the 3-on-3- co-founder probably knows this is more of a PR move than anything.

Check Yo Self Cube

At the end of the day, Cube is a businessman trying to improve his product and fight the powers that be. He did give Lieberman and Leslie their first head coaching opportunities in a men's league.

Nonetheless, the hip-hop legend is only going off of the hype right now because there are/were plenty of former and current WNBA players who could have helped lift the BIG3 — Diana Taurasi, Tamika Catchings, Cynthia Cooper, Maya Moore, Sherly Swoopes, Elena Delle Donne, Natasha Cloud, and many more.

Cube's offer will continue to make noise and generate excitement but it's probably not going to work and it may build some animosity between the WNBA and the upstart 3-on-3 league.