It’s really a shame that we have to repeat this, but…
NO. CAITLIN CLARK WILL NOT HAVE TO TAKE A SALARY CUT WHEN SHE JOINS THE WNBA.
If that feels a bit over the top, it probably should. For some reason, people think that Caitlin Clark and other big college basketball stars will have to take a pay cut when they join the WNBA. We’re exhausted because not only is that concept wrong, it’s problematic. Yet, here we are again because the conversations started after Clark’s WNBA Draft announcement, and we just want to sigh — loudly.
The largest misconception from some folks is thinking Clark makes her money through Iowa’s collective, which isn’t true at all. It’s through big, national brands like Gatorade and State Farm. They aren’t going to suddenly ditch her when she goes to the W. (Imagine the PR nightmare they’d have on their hands if they did!)
Headline:
Caitlin Clark chooses a $750,000 paycut. https://t.co/UIe0G83bt6
— Darren Rovell (@darrenrovell) February 29, 2024
So, once again, for the folks in the back, here are the eight times For The Win and our colleagues across the internet told you this won’t happen:
1
Mike Sykes tried to ease into this conversation with an Angel Reese article in November 2023
Sykes wrote this in 2023:
“Reese’s salary would actually be increasing because LSU doesn’t technically pay her to play basketball. Whatever team drafts her will. Let’s start there.
You might be asking, ‘Well, what about her NIL deals? Won’t they go away?’ And that’s not necessarily true, either. We have to realize that her NIL valuation is not a salary — it’s a valuation. It’s an estimation of what her likeness earns her on the open market.”
2
Another For The Win colleague, Mitchell Northam, wrote about Caitlin Clark in January
He wrote this after hearing Tony Kornheiser and Michael Wilbon incorrectly talk about the pay cut Clark would have to take:
“Still, there is a widely-spread misconception existing that women’s college basketball players will not take their endorsement deals – made possible in college through the Name, Image and Likeness (NIL) law – with them when they become professionals in the WNBA.
And when people say that, we should ask them, why?
Why would national brands that endorse Clark now – such as State Farm, Gatorade, Nike, Buick, Topps, H&R Block, and the supermarket chain Hy-Vee – end their relationships with her when she (probably) gets drafted this spring by the Indiana Fever?
The fact is, they likely won’t.
She will still be a household name with more than 825,000 followers on Instagram, and her profile could grow even more should Iowa make another Final Four run or if she competes in the Olympics this summer.”
3
Michael Voepel of ESPN also did an excellent job in January of addressing the elephant in the room
“Do top women’s college players take a major ‘pay cut’ going to the WNBA?
That’s an outdated way to look at it in the NIL era. Marquee players such as Clark, Bueckers, Reese and more all have major endorsement deals — such as Nike, Reebok, Gatorade, Bose — that will stay with them whenever they leave college.
Admittedly, only a few stars have those kinds of endorsements. And whatever players get from the collectives that have formed in connection with college sports programs is contingent upon them being in school.
But there are other opportunities to make money as a professional, too. That includes player marketing agreements with the WNBA, where players can serve as brand ambassadors in the offseason and make as much as $250,000, and with their individual WNBA teams.”
4
WNBA player Haley Jones told Erica L. Ayala of CBS Sports that she did not lose money by going to the WNBA
Erica L. Ayala of CBS Sports recently asked Atlanta Dream guard Haley Jones, who also plays professional basketball for Athletes Unlimited, if she lost any money by turning pro.
Jones seemed confused about why people thought the money would disappear. Another WNBA and Athletes Unlimited player, Sydney Colson, said that thought was made up.
There's a ton of misinformation around player endorsements disappearing when collegiate players go to the WNBA. "I don't know where that came from," Haley Jones said. Syd Colson chimed in quickly: "Men, it came from men." (Q: @elindsay08)
— Myles (@MylesEhrlich) February 27, 2024
Erica’s followup yesterday was brilliant because, in clear language, it dismantles this bogus argument. The NIL conversation continues to be an echochamber of ignorance, because so many of the men in sports media are not consuming the content they spread false narratives about. pic.twitter.com/5KjSRBJYQW
— Myles (@MylesEhrlich) February 28, 2024
5
Sabreena Merchant of The Athletic dispelled several notions in February
Here are some of the noteworthy things Merchant wrote:
“Clark already has partnerships with national brands, including State Farm, Nike and Gatorade. Those deals will follow her to the WNBA. It’s worth noting that Nike is one of the league’s Changemakers, and State Farm sponsors the WNBA Draft.
As the CEO of Iowa’s primary NIL collective told The Wall Street Journal, Clark doesn’t take money from the school’s boosters. She may have local endorsements who are only interested in Iowa athletes, but she’ll likely compensate for those with companies in Indiana who want to be in the Caitlin Clark business once she plays for the Fever.”
6
Here's Brendan O' Sullivan of The Sporting News with more information on NIL deals
O’Sullivan does a masterful job explaining why Clark’s NIL deals won’t disappear:
“Clark is entering the 2024 WNBA Draft, she announced Thursday. She is forgoing her fifth year of eligibility, which she received due to the COVID-impacted 2020-21 season.
To be clear: Her NIL money won’t disappear as she makes the leap to the professional level. Her current partnerships will just become endorsements.
And it’s very possible that both the number of partnerships and the amount of money she receives will continue to increase as more companies try to cash in on her stardom at the professional level.
What the WNBA offers that Iowa cannot is a salary. Clark is expected to be selected at the top of the WNBA Draft in April, which means she should be able to max out her rookie salary in the league.”
7
Oh, look. Here's Mike Sykes again
Here’s what Sykes had to stress to everyone again:
“Today’s culprit is Darren Rovell, who felt the need to belittle Caitlin Clark and her moment by immediately talking about the imaginary pay cut she was taking after she announced that she’d be going to the WNBA this season.
His argument is this: Clark’s NIL valuation is currently $910,000, per On3 Sports. She’ll go to the WNBA and make a $75,000 salary annually as a No. 1 pick. Clark’s NIL valuation is “essentially” (his words, not mine) a salary for Clark at Iowa. Her salary in the W would only be $75,000, which is obviously below $910,000.
Here’s the thing: That’s so laughably wrong. It shows a tacit misunderstanding about how all this works.
Her current valuation isn’t a salary — it’s a valuation of how much her endorsement deals are worth. Her current salary is a whopping $0 because Iowa doesn’t pay its student-athletes.”
8
Finally, here's Jeff Eisenberg to take us home
In case anybody missed the deeply implied undertones of Caitlin Clark’s WNBA Draft announcement, Jeff Eisenberg of Yahoo! Sports wrote this:
“The leading scorer in NCAA women’s basketball history announced on social media that she will not return to Iowa for her extra COVID year of eligibility and will instead enter the 2024 WNBA Draft.
Nowhere in Clark’s 129-word statement did she address the financial element of her decision, but she herself has previously shot down the idea that she’d be taking a pay cut in the WNBA. When Dan Patrick asked Clark directly about that last year, she told him, ‘I think people don’t understand that NIL is still a thing when you get into pro sports too.'”
