Caitlin Clark’s agent says her WNBA salary has limits

Indiana Fever guard Caitlin Clark took the WNBA by storm during her rookie season, shattering viewership and attendance records while pocketing a relatively modest $76,500 salary. Now her agent has confessed it’s impossible for the star to receive fair compensation when it comes to her salary.

The nature of the WNBA’s collective bargaining agreement, which the players opted out of in 2024, limits players’ wages on their rookie contracts. Even generational talents like Clark can’t negotiate better deals

“Will Caitlin Clark ever be paid by the WNBA what she’s really worth to that league? I don’t think that’s possible,” Erin Kane, Clark’s agent, told ESPN. “She’s part of a larger player body. They all need to be paid more. She should be recognized for what she has done and what she’s brought to the league from an economic standpoint.”

The WNBA star had options when she left college, though. Rapper Ice Cube’s BIG3 league reportedly offered her a two-year, $10 million contract to play against men in the three-on-three competition. Clark would have also received an ownership stake in a franchise and a cut of her merchandise sales.

To supplement their income, many WNBA players spend their offseason competing in foreign leagues.

“America’s women athletes should not be forced to spend their offseasons playing in often dismal and dubious foreign countries just to make ends meet,” Ice Cube wrote about his offer to Clark last year. “And they should have more than just one professional option in the U.S.”

They do, with 36 female players competing in the three-on-three Unrivaled league, which features games TNT and Max

For now, most of Clark’s money comes from endorsement and brand deals. The Iowa product signed an eight-year, $28 million deal with Nike last spring. Her signature shoe is expected to debut in 2026.