Michael Wilbon ponders if Caitlin Clark should take her talents to WNBA

Should Caitlin Clark – the face of college women’s basketball – declare for the 2024 WNBA Draft or return to Iowa for another season? That’s the literal million-dollar question facing Clark, who currently makes a fortune from her NIL deals with brands such as Nike, Gatorade, State Farm and Bose, but stands to make significantly less money by going pro – ironic considering student-athletes couldn’t monetize their NIL a few years ago.

According to Hawkeyes Wire, Clark’s NIL valuation is estimated at $818,000, which places her in the top five among female collegiate athletes and No. 29 among all collegiate athletes.

If Clark were to go pro, she stands to make $76,535 from the first year of her WNBA contract, per Spotrac. While there’s the likelihood of Clark’s NIL sponsorships carrying over into her career as a pro athlete, veteran sports analyst Michael Wilbon has urged the WNBA to fix their wage gap or risk losing generational athletes such as Clark.

"The NIL -- controversial as it is -- provides a lot of money to Caitlin Clark and so many others," Wilbon said on ESPN’s "PTI" on Monday. “The WNBA, in this specific case, can't come close to that. It's going to be interesting to see how that evolves -- both the league and what it can pay versus NIL deals and what those can pay.”

The Hawkeye Wire article suggested the possibility of the SWARM collective and local businesses in Iowa enticing Clark with a one-year offer, worth $1,014,168, that could be the equivalent of three times Clark’s WNBA contract plus her existing sponsorship deals. The argument is that Clark sells out every arena she steps into, with Front Office Sports reporting that even visiting teams have seen their attendance skyrocket by 145%.

In short, Clark is a box office draw and potentially the future face of all sports.

Clark herself remains undecided about going pro later this year, previously floating the idea of returning to Iowa to pursue her Master’s degree and continue suiting up for the Hawkeyes. However, Clark has also referred to playing in the WNBA as "a dream" in several interviews.

Many believe that Clark's arrival in the WNBA could fix the longstanding wage issues that have gripped the league, allowing star players such as Breanna Stewart, A'ja Wilson and Kelsey Plum to earn wages closer to their male counterparts in the NBA.