“You don’t wake up and think of individual accolades,” Caitlin Clark cleared her stance on individual honors. The statement surprised many, coming from a player who has dealt in records throughout the season. Nonetheless, it shows her determination to succeed as a team. And while the 22-year-old etched her name in the W’s books by bagging the ROTY award on Friday night, the bonus that Clark will receive for her services will be quite less. In fact, even lower than the costliest ticket sold during a game between the Fever and Sky, something that, in part, made this WNBA season a success.

According to the Collective Bargaining Agreement, the ROTY will receive a bonus of $5,150 which is quite less when compared to the highest-priced ticket that cost more than $9000 in July. Furthermore, anyone included in the All-WNBA Rookie Team will get an additional bonus of $1,500. The award amount is paltry, considering Clark’s efforts in the league. She started this season while looking to adjust to the physicality of the league and with time became better at her new role.

The number one draft of the year became the first rookie to record a triple-double during a game against the New York Liberty in July. She gave her all with her three-pointers, assists, and points, so much so, that by the end of the regular season, she had the highest W assists in a single season as she eclipsed Alyssa Thomas’s record of 316 in 2023, a feat that was expected considering she had recorded the most assists in a single game (19).

As for her three-pointers, she became the rookie with the highest scores from beyond the arc and the second in place in single-season scorers next to Sabrina Ionescu by scoring 122 threes. The all-time leading NCAA DI scorer extended her legacy in the WNBA as she scored the most points by a rookie ever (769). Therefore, considering her achievements the sum of $5,150 looks miniscule, especially if we take into account the popularity she brought to the league.

Caitlin Clark’s popularity exponentially increased ticket prices

When Clark came into the W, she brought her own fan following from the NCAA. The first overall pick during the W draft gripped national television as the draft recorded an average viewership of 2.45 million viewers, the highest in a W draft history. The Des-Moines-born’s debut against the Connecticut Sun became the most-watched game at that time since 2002. Additionally, six different TV partners broke the record for the most watched game and all of them involved Clark. Therefore, with rising popularity, the arenas were also sold out.

It is reported that a new W record was set as more than 300,000 fans flocked to enjoy the Fever games at the Gainbridge Fieldhouse. All this culminated in the Fever selling a ticket for more than $9000 when they battled it out against their rivals Chicago Sky at the Wintrust Arena during the third game between them in July. As per Jordan Valinsky of CNN.com (Sports Business Journal), these were the most expensive tickets for a WNBA game ever.

The average ticket price for the matchup was around $253 which was 187% higher than the average ticket price for any Sky game. The Fever, after keeping an eye on the ticket prices, also recommended that the league switch their game to the United Center which boasts a capacity of 23,500, which is more than double that of the Wintrust Arena.

Therefore, while Clark would be celebrating beating her rival Angel Reese in the ROTY race, she would also be looking at the bonus she will be awarded. And going by her impact in the league, maybe she won’t be able to take the depressing amount from her mind.