
USA Today via Reuters
Apr 15, 2024; Brooklyn, NY, USA; Caitlin Clark before the 2024 WNBA Draft at Brooklyn Academy of Music. Mandatory Credit: Brad Penner-USA TODAY Sports

USA Today via Reuters
Apr 15, 2024; Brooklyn, NY, USA; Caitlin Clark before the 2024 WNBA Draft at Brooklyn Academy of Music. Mandatory Credit: Brad Penner-USA TODAY Sports
Caitlin Clark and her counterparts made women’s basketball a must-watch in the NCAA since last year. That value hasn’t waned for any of them going into the WNBA. But their salaries have. From millions in NILs as collegiate athletes, Clark and other female basketball players have taken a huge pay cut entering the WNBA. Clark’s $76,000 rookie salary is spurring the pay disparity discussion in comparison to NBA rookies. But Chandler Parsons subscribes to the old notion that someone’s salary is nobody’s business.
The no.1 draft pick overall, NCAA’s all-time scoring champion, and the newest Indiana Fever star, is close to signing a historic 8-figure endorsement contract with Nike. Yet some trolls think a low-paid WNBA rookie doesn’t deserve a big sneaker deal. Parsons though is on the “side of people getting paid.”
So while he was on Run it Back, he told all the Clark trolls, “All these people making fun of [Caitlin Clark’s] WNBA salary, eat s**t, ’cause she’s making more money than you, so keep hating, she’s changing the game, she’s awesome, she deserves it and she’s gonna kill it in the WNBA… I hope this is just the beginning of these girls getting these massive deals.”
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Yes, it’s disappointing that the stars of NCAA like Clark, Cameron Brink, Rickea Jackson, and reigning champ Kamilla Cardoso are tied at the highest rookie salary with roughly $76,535 for the WNBA while their male counterparts get paid more. Parsons started at $850,000 in 2011. Victor Wembanyama will earn over $12 million for this season. His Nike shoe deal is rumored to be worth $100 million. But Parsons’ deal with Anta was a tad lower, $1 million, compared to Clark’s.
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But he also has a point, since most players earn more than their pro-league salaries through endorsement deals. Considering her NIL worth was $3.1 million, her endorsement appeal is at its prime and worth as much. Moreover, Parson projected that it’s only upwards for Clark and other WNBA rookies from here.
The WNBA rookies got the bag
Parsons got practical a little bit there when he said, “Their salaries are crazy. So they’re going to find other ways for them to make money.” Since these ladies are already attracting major sponsorship deals, the retired pro is excited for what’s to come.
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“This is a huge start for women in general, and the WNBA” And for those who are jealous Clark’s out-earning them, he says, “She got a bag, so keep laughing at her salary, but she’s the peak.”
And when the ink dries on that 8-figure Nike deal, Caitlin Clark will have the last laugh all the way to the bank.
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