Erin Kane, the agent for WNBA superstar and 2024 Rookie of the Year Caitlin Clark, said that she doesn’t know if the league will ever be able to pay Clark what she is worth.
“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 during a conversation with 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. It’s as simple as that.”
According to Dr. Ryan Brewer, a professor of finance at Indiana University Columbus who spoke to The Indianapolis Star in late 2024, Clark’s economic impact on the WNBA was valued at $36 million. Dr. Brewer also found that Clark accounted for 26.5% of the league’s activity in 2024 (fan attendance, merchandising, TV deals, etc.).
Despite this massive influx of money and viewership, Caitlin Clark’s salary is expected to be around $78,000 for this coming season. By comparison, San Antonio Spurs center Victor Wembanyama – who was drafted first overall the same year that Clark was taken with the number-one pick in the WNBA Draft – is scheduled to make $12.7 million this season, according to Spotrac.
Like most professional sports leagues, WNBA contracts are collectively bargained, meaning WNBAers can make between $64,000 and about $242,000. Meanwhile, Golden State Warriors guard Steph Curry is the highest-paid player in the NBA this season, making over $55.7 million. The NBA’s highest-paid players make roughly 230 times more than their WNBA counterparts.
“The most important thing always has been getting WNBA players paid for what they do on the court,” Kane added. “I’m very, very hopeful for this CBA negotiation that it will be progressive and move the line forward a lot.”
In October of 2024, the WNBA players’ union announced that it was opting out of its collective bargaining agreement (CBA) with the league, giving the union and the league time to strike a new deal before the current CBA expires on October 31st, 2025. When the union made this decision, it said it would go into negotiations looking for a “business model that reflects their true value, encompassing higher salaries,” among other things.
“I think we’re ready for a spin-off [from the NBA],” Kane said. “I just think that the NBA is incentivized to make decisions that are good for the NBA, and those are not always aligned with what’s good for the WNBA. And so, for the sake of the league that I work in, I want women and women’s basketball to be able to make clean, clear choices that are in their own best interest.”
The 2025 WNBA regular season is scheduled to begin on May 16th and end on September 11th. After that, the WNBA playoffs will run from September 14th to October 17th at the latest.
