The WNBA has one of the biggest sports stars on its hands, Indiana Fever guard, Caitlin Clark.
The former Iowa Hawkeyes star, who was taken with the No. 1 pick in the 2024 WNBA draft, led her Fever squad to the playoffs in year one after they were one of the worst teams in the league the year prior. En route to the team’s first playoff appearance since 2020 and winning the WNBA Rookie of the Year award, Clark averaged 19.2 points, 8.4 assists and 5.7 rebounds.
As ESPN’s Michele Steele revealed in a recent article, she also had a significant impact off the court in Indianapolis and on the WNBA as a whole.
“An economist at Indiana University Columbus interviewed by the Indianapolis Star recently calculated that Clark was responsible for $36 million in economic impact to the city of Indianapolis and almost 27% of the league’s economic activity for the 2024 season, including attendance, merchandise sales and television,” wrote Steele.
Indiana Fever guard Caitlin Clark sets the play.
Paul Rutherford-Imagn Images
While most would assume that because she generated this kind of economic impact for her team’s city and the WNBA, Clark would be due for a massive payday, her agent Erin Cane told ESPN that it likely isn’t even possible for Clark to be paid her true value.
“Will Caitlin Clark ever be paid by the WNBA what she’s really worth to that league? I don’t think that’s possible,” said Kane. “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. It’s as simple as that.”
According to Spotrac, the Fever are set to pay Clark $78,066 this upcoming season. However, Clark and the rest of the WNBA athletes are due for a pay increase after the Women’s National Basketball Players Association opted out of the CBA last October.
On top of that, the league also announced a new media rights deal that has an estimated value of $200 million across 11 years starting in 2026. So, Clark’s impact on the city and league may never be a quantifiable number that she will be paid, but she is helping the league make significant strides.
