Iowa Hawkeyes guard Caitlin Clark was the biggest star in college basketball for the last three years. After generating massive college basketball TV ratings, Clark is now headed to the WNBA where many are hoping she makes the same impact and cashes in on it in the process.
Before she is drafted with the first overall pick in the WNBA Draft, here’s everything you need to know about how much Clark will make in the WNBA.
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Caitlin Clark WNBA contract details
Much like with players entering the draft in the NFL and NBA, the WNBA established a rookie wage scale for its incoming players. Salaries are determined by draft positioning, with the player drafted first overall receiving the highest salary and the contract cost descending with each pick.
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The 2024-’25 WNBA rookie wage scale, provided by Spotrac, offers an exact look at how much Clark will be making in the WNBA in her first season and over the course of her rookie contract. All of this is determined by the salary cap, WNBA revenue and the league’s collective bargaining agreement.
Caitlin Clark contract WNBA
- 2024: $76,535
- 2025: $78,066
- 2026: $85,873
- 2027*: $97,582 (team option)
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How much will Caitlin Clark make in the WNBA?
Clark will receive a $76,535 salary in her rookie season this year, which is the maximum salary for the first overall pick under WNBA rules. Among WNBA players in 2024, Clark will have the 87th-highest salary. For comparison, 68 WNBA players will be earning at least $100,000 in salary in 2024.
- Caitlin Clark salary (AAV): $84,514 over four years
Clark will not have an opportunity to become one of the WNBA’s top-paid players, at least in terms of salary, until 2028. The Indiana Fever will have a four-year team option on her worth $97,582 in 2027.
Related: Caitlin Clark already had a massive impact on Indiana Fever season tickets
Caitlin Clark contract – Indiana Fever
| 2024 | 2025 | 2026 | 2027* | Total |
| $76,535 | $78,066 | $85,873 | $97,582 | $338,056 over 4 years |
Caitlin Clark Nike deal value
Days after being drafted with the first overall pick in the 2024 WNBA Draft, Clark proved why she wasn’t sacrificing any money by making the jump from college basketball to the WNBA. The endorsements are following her, including a record-setting deal by Nike.
Related: WNBA TV ratings, Caitlin Clark effect already on display
As first reported by The Athletic, Clark signed a multi-year endorsement deal with Nike that is worth eight figures. Not only will she get her own signature Nike shoe out of the deal, but Clark’s endorsement earnings will make her one of the highest-paid women’s basketball players ever.
According to Shams Charania, Clark’s Nike endorsement deal is worth ‘above $20 million’. While no specifics were provided on just how much the newest WNBA star is receiving in the contract, it’s in the ballpark of $20 million. So, while she does have one of the lower WNBA salaries, her off-court business deals will pull in far more money than she received in college.
Will Caitlin Clark make more money in college or the WNBA?
One popular topic of conversation during Clark’s final season at Iowas centered on her earning power in college basketball versus playing in the WNBA. Some argued that by becoming a professional basketball player, she would be earning less money than she made in college.
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It’s true that many WNBA players will spend months competing with other teams in international leagues because foreign countries pay their women’s basketball players more than the average WNBA salary. However, what that argument misses is that Clark’s salary is strictly for her to play basketball. She’ll still have plenty of money-making opportunities through endorsements, just as she did at Iowa.
- Caitlin Clark NIL value (On3): $3.1 million.
While playing for the Hawkeyes’ Clark had 11 documented Name, Image and Likeness deals with multiple companies paying to be partnered with her. Most recently, Clark had NIL deals with Nike, State Farm, Buick, Gatorade, Bose, Hy-Vee, H&R Block, Shoot-A-Way, Topps, Panini America, Goldman Sachs and The Vinyl Studio that were worth over $3 million in estimated value.
Related: Big3 League offers Caitlin Clark $5 million
Clark will be able to maintain those endorsement deals in the WNBA and more are coming. In March, she signed a multi-year endorsement contract with Gainbridge, the company that also has the naming rights to the Fever’s arena.
In short, Clark can make just as much money and likely even more in the WNBA compared to her NIL earnings as a college basketball star. Plus, if her presence has the same impact on TV ratings for the WNBA as it did for women’s college basketball, that will lead to more revenue for the league and she will become one of the highest-paid players in women’s college basketball after that.