Caitlin Clark may be dominating every opponent in her path while playing college basketball for the Iowa Hawkeyes, but her days in the NCAA are coming to an end soon. Before long, she’ll be the No. 1 overall pick in the 2024 WNBA Draft. Yet, other basketball leagues would love to try and incentivize Clark to take an unconventional route to continue her playing career.
According to Ice Cube, the BIG3 has offered Clark $5 million to join their 3-on-3 basketball league, which was founded in 2017, but still hasn’t taken off like wildfire. Adding a star like Clark could be the elixir needed to take the BIG3 to the next level. Yet, Clark isn’t focused on anything other than helping the Iowa women’s basketball team advance in the NCAA Tournament.
“I honestly don’t talk about those things with really anybody. I have other people that deal with it. They haven’t said a word to me about it. And, my main focus is on this team and helping us find a way to beat Colorado and hopefully win another one after that.”
Iowa’s Caitlin Clark commenting on BIG3’s $5 million offer
If Clark did decide to accept the $5 million offer from the BIG3, she’d still be allowed to pursue a WNBA career while under contract, and she’d only have to play in eight regular season games plus two playoff matchups.
Plus, $5 million is a lot more money than she’d make in the WNBA on a rookie contract.
Still, there is always the risk of injury, and Clark may not want to put her WNBA career in danger while competing in a league that she’s not entirely focused on. Turning down that much money can’t be easy, but for a superstar like Clark, who could likely fetch far more than that in endorsement deals alone, passing up on the massive payday may be easier to stomach.
Related: 20 highest-paid WNBA players in 2024; How much will Caitlin Clark earn when she joins the WNBA?