Caitlin Clark to be offered incredible pay rise 13x her WNBA salary to join new league

The newly established Unrivaled Women’s Basketball League is reportedly planning to lure WNBA star Caitlin Clark with a Lionel Messi-style deal for its inaugural 2025 season. Front Office Sports suggests that the league could offer Clark more than $1 million, over 13 times her current WNBA rookie wage of $76,535 per season, as well as a stake in Unrivaled.

The league hopes that Clark could boost ticket sales, TV ratings and advertising in just three months of work during the WNBA offseason, similar to Messi’s impact on Inter Miami and MLS.

Messi’s groundbreaking move to Miami included a contract worth $150m, partial future ownership and other financial incentives, such as a share of revenue from Apple TV’s MLS Pass. With Clark rated as the fourth most marketable athlete globally by SportsPro, the Unrivaled Women’s Basketball League may be further motivated to secure her participation.

Set to launch in Miami in January 2025, the 3-on-3 league will run across eight weeks, including playoffs. The warm winter weather in Florida could be an additional incentive for Clark to compete instead of enduring Iowa’s cold.

While a salary of over $1m might seem small compared to athletes like Messi and NBA’s LeBron James, who will earn $48.7m this season with the Los Angeles Lakers, it represents a significant leap for women’s basketball.

While she has declined to compete in the Unrivaled League alongside her noted rival Angel Reese, standout player Clark has cashed in on lucrative sponsorship and endorsement deals off the court including an impressive eight-year agreement with Nike worth a whopping $28 million.

Clark’s offseason is already jam-packed with activities, not least her upcoming appearance at The Annika, hosted by the LPGA at Pelican Golf Club in Florida. She expressed her enthusiasm for golf and the event: “I love golf, so the opportunity to play in the pro-am for a tournament with a legend like Annika Sorenstam’s name on it is so exciting,” Clark remarked in a recent press release.

Moreover, she underscored the incredible support for women in sport from Gainbridge, highlighting their backing of this event as well as other initiatives such as the Billie Jean King leadership initiative and Parity Week: “Gainbridge is a leader in supporting women’s sports, and that’s clear through their commitment to me, this event, Billie Jean King, and Parity Week.”

Clark is looking forward to mingling with the LPGA elite, attending the Women’s Leadership Summit, and participating in the pro-am event with Sorenstam herself: “I’m looking forward to seeing all the LPGA players on the driving range, being part of the Women’s Leadership Summit, and, of course, teeing it up in the pro-am with Annika.”