Caitlin Clark, the No. 1 pick in the women’s basketball draft, will earn just 1% of a rookie’s salary in the NBA – Publinews – 2024-04-17 10:27:17

As expected, Caitlin Clark was the first pick in the WNBA Draft taking place tonight in Brooklyn and next season, which starts in less than a month, she will play for the Indiana Fever.

The former University of Iowa player is coming off a season in which she set the NCAA all-time points record (women and men), But more important than that, her performances generated an unprecedented media impact in women’s basketball.

Driven by Clark, the “Hawkeyes” reached the final of the national tournament and the defeat against South Carolina was seen by 18.7 million viewers, the most watched sporting event since 2019 different from American football and the Olympic Games.

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For the first time in history, The women’s final of “March Madness” had more viewers than the men’s: 14.8 million people watched Connecticut’s victory over Purdue.

How much will Caitlin Clark earn in the WNBA?

All that commercial and media impact will not translate into direct profits for Clark, since according to the collective agreement and the WNBA salary cap, His salary in the Indiana Fever will not exceed 100 thousand dollars (including bonuses), ya who will be new.

The difference with the NBA is stark: the number 1 in the last Draft of the US professional basketball league, the Frenchman Victor Wembanyama, signed his first contract with the San Antonio Spurs for 12 million dollars a year. In turn, No. 2 Brandon Miller reached an agreement for almost $11 million with the Hornets and No. 3 Scott Henderson earned $9.7 million in his first year with the Trail Blazers.

The highest paid player in the WNBA is Arike Ogunbowale, who this year will receive 241 thousand dollars with the Dallas Wings. How much does the highest-paid basketball player in the NBA earn? The Golden State Warriors pay him $51 million to Stephen Curry.

In the WNBA they bet that The arrival of Caitlin Clark will give greater visibility to the women’s league, which will allow greater commercial income, ticket sales and television rights.

In any case, Clark has commercial contracts with brands such as Nike, Gatorade, Buick y State Farm, among others, that bring in income of more than 3 million dollars.

What other notable NCAA players were selected?

The second selection was Cameron Brink, a forward from Stanford, and that he will play for the Los Angeles Sparks, team that belongs to the Lakers organization.

Brazilian Kamilla Cardoso, the best player in the last National Tournament and champion with South Carolina, She was selected with the third pick by the Chicago Sky.

Another outstanding player, LSU’s Angel Reese, He will also travel to the “Windy City” after the Sky took the seventh pick in the Draft there.