All of the hoopla around new shoe deals for WNBA stars, possible expansion and a robust free agency that has fans excited shines a brighter light on the importance of Caitlin Clark.
It also attempts to mask the plummeting ratings of the Inaugural 3 v 3 league that was supposed to increase exposure for the WNBA and ride the wave of the women’s basketball explosion that dominated the 2024 calendar.
Unrivaled averaged around 312,000 viewers across TNT and TruTV for the first two games in its history. The numbers got worse for Unrivaled which drew in the 100,000’s over the last weeks of the season.
Unrivaled Needed Caitlin Clark
Nobody from the WNBA wants to admit it, but making sure Caitlin Clark was a part of Unrivaled was the most important thing Breanna Stewart and Napheesa Collier needed to do before embarking on this unknown journey.
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It was mighty egotistical of them, if you will, to think that they could start a women’s hoops league in the middle of the NBA season and the heat of the NFL playoffs that doesn’t feature the one player that made it all possible. Caitlin Clark fills the stands and surges the interest because she has her own legion of highly-dedicated fans.
Clark knows her power and she also remembers how she was treated at certain points by her fellow stars and WNBA antagonists. She’s intent on getting her respect, not just on the court but with the power of her exploding brand.
Clark’s agent recently reflected on his client’s value to the league and how it’s not a stretch to say that her brand is bigger than the league. Which is a narrative or possibly a reality that the WNBA, including the commissioner, has tried to downplay.
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Caitlin Clark’s Agent Said WNBA Can’t Afford Her
Erin Kane, who represents Clark, 23, under Excel Sports Management, pondered during an interview with ESPN, “Will Caitlin Clark ever be paid by the WNBA what she’s really worth to that league?”
“I don’t think that’s possible,” Kane said. Kane kept it real, explaining that the Indiana Fever star is “part of a larger player body” that needs to be “paid more” by the WNBA.
“She should be recognized for what she has done and what she’s brought to the league from an economic standpoint. It’s as simple as that,” Kane added.
WNBA salaries will be a point of contention as the two sides come together to open new collective bargaining negotiations, because Clark, who signed a reported $28 million deal with Nike before she stepped on a WNBA court, reportedly made just $76,535 in her first year of a four-year $338,056 contract. She probably makes the league that much money and more per game.
Unrivaled attempted to get Clark to play. They reportedly offered her $1 million plus equity stake in the team. She shut it down.
Unrivaled League Paid More Than Twice What Full WNBA Season Pays
Unrivaled players earn an average salary of more than $220,000 during the eight-week season, which is close to the maximum base salary in the WNBA.
1v1 tournament winner Napheesa Collier won some additional loot.
“My entire WNBA salary is what I just got in 30 minutes of playing one on one, which is insane to even say,” Collier, 28, said, according to ESPN.
Caitlin Clark Knows Her Worth, WNBA Still In Denial, So She Must Hurt Feelings
When Clark was invited to participate in the NBA’s 3-point contest at All-Star Weekend on Feb. 15, she turned that down too, because she wants her first three-point contest to be at the WNBA’s upcoming All-Star events in Indianapolis this summer. Where she can let everybody know who the top dog is.
Clark knows that she is going to own the WNBA landscape soon. She has a contingent of fans who are invested in every way in her success, and corporate giants behind her. There are other WNBA players who move the needle, but when it comes to the product on the court, love her or scorn her Clark is the attraction.
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Her not-so-subtle denials of opportunities and her agent going on the record and telling the world that the league basically can’t afford her or her burgeoning brand, whatever animosity you think existed during Clark’s Rookie of the Year campaign, will probably ramp up this season as she’s upgraded a team that was surging at the end of last season.
Indiana Fever Switched Leadership, Built Potential Juggernaut In Offseason
Stephanie White is an upgrade at head coach over Christie Sides. She can win games and was a was a beast of a player in her days. White was named National College Player of the Year, Indiana NCAA Woman of the Year, and Big Ten Conference Player of the Year on the way to leading Carolyn Peck’s Purdue squad to the NCAA National Championship in 1999.
In addition to re-signing scoring assassin Kelsey Mitchell to complement Clark in the backcourt again, Indiana already signed two grade A veterans with championship pedigree to provide the kind of leadership, protection and support that Clark and Aliyah Boston needs to play their games freely and contend at a championship level.
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Forwards Natasha Howard, a three-time champion and two-time All-Star, and DeWanna Bonner, a two-time champion and six-time All-Star will transform the complexion of the team. The final piece seems to be the recent addition of Brianna Turner, a two-time WNBA All-Defensive selection.
The Fever are loaded and so is Clark. The WNBA is the only party here working from a deficit. You can only deny the truth so long.
