How much money will Caitlin Clark make in the WNBA?

Well, she made it official. Caitlin Clark announced via Twitter/X that she will declare for the WNBA Draft, forgoing the fifth year of eligibility she was entitled to because of the COVID season.

With her being the likely first pick in the 2024 WNBA Draft in April, Clark’s mind is clear and ready to focus on the upcoming March Madness tournament with the decision being made.

However, for the rest of us who aren’t Caitlin Clark, the media and fan buzz is insane. One recurring topic on the women’s side is if the women declaring are foregoing the potential millions of dollars made through NIL endorsements as collegiate athletes, especially someone as popular as Clark. This Hawkeye has cashed in with Bose, Nike, State Farm, and more, so why is she choosing to throw all of that away for the WNBA?

Well, she’s not losing out on anything. 

Caitlin Clark’s price is going up by declaring

If you were to only go off the discourse around NIL money and how it compares to professional money from casual conversations, you’d think it would be better to play for your college through your fourth or fifth year. In some extremes, it could be argued that you should completely take full advantage of your five years and collect on NIL endorsements. But Clark a unicorn in terms of what could be with NIL endorsements for a college athlete and potential draft pick. 

There’s already a less than two percent chance to play at the highest level in NCAA basketball for the high school population. Once making that cut, you’re one of 400,000 student-athletes competing for a shot at collecting tens of thousands of dollars through NIL endorsements. However, according to iconsource, the average athlete makes around 3,700 dollars from NIL. 

That’s quite a bit less than the hundreds of thousands of dollars Clark makes from her many endorsements. But what happens after she’s declared for the draft in and enters the WNBA?

Well … not much. Most of the NIL endorsements that high-level athletes sign are contingent upon how the contract is drafted beforehand. So even though these endorsements may seem to be short and potentially tied to the current institution, they can be renewed. Her current value sits just around a million dollars combining all of her partnerships. This makes it possible that Clark’s valuation through endorsements will increase with her selection into the draft. But what will her WNBA salary look like?

How much will Caitlin Clark make once she’s drafted into the WNBA?

So if Clark can still make money outside of playing ball, and potentially a lot more, how much will she make from the WNBA? Under the current Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA), a rookie contract can range from $64-76k. Come 2027, rookies will make a base salary of $70k out the gate. 

For Clark, she’s likely going to make the top half of this margin. But this doesn’t mean she’s taking a pay cut, since these athletes can and will be making more as they progress through their careers. Just last year, Clark’s future teammate Aliyah Boston was granted a base salary of $75k over three years, giving her around $230k, and her entire contract is capped at $328k.

It’s not a glamorous or gaudy amount of cash compared to the men, but it’s not aiming to be. It’s about revenue sharing, which the WNBA’s CBA is aiming to shift toward.

With new faces like Clark, Brink, Edwards, etc. coming into the league, that revenue share will make a huge difference with the star power attached to it. Fans will buy in (and Indiana is aware of this), and more money will hopefully be made off of that. For these players to be the product, the end goal should be for said players to collect off of that, and in turn … their profits are increased for their contributions on the court. 

So long story short, how much can Caitlin Clark make? It’s a heck of a lot more than she’d make as just a college athlete. Combine the endorsements and partnership contracts being renewed, along with the ones she’s likely to sign once selected, sprinkle in her actual salary from doing her job with its benefits and she’s making a comfortable wage.