Caitlin Clark is no stranger to making history — she did it routinely during her Iowa career. And though she hasn’t yet stepped foot on a WNBA court, she wasted no time in setting a record after being selected No. 1 overall by the Indiana Fever in Monday’s 2024 WNBA Draft.
Just two hours after commissioner Cathy Engelbert announced her name at the podium at the Brooklyn Academy of Music, Clark became Fanatics’ top selling draft pick in any draft night history, per Darren Rovell. She surpassed Trevor Lawrence after the Jacksonville Jaguars selected him No. 1 overall in the 2021 NFL Draft.
Clark’s No. 22 Fever jersey nearly sold out almost immediately after it was listed on the online store. The sizes XS, M, L, XL and XXL were unavailable just hours after Clark was picked. All sizes are available now as pre-order items.
“Fanatics wanted to do something special and pre-made a limited amount of jerseys to ship immediately to fans. Those sold out, as expected.” Rovell wrote on X.
Of course, Clark’s No. 1 overall selection gives her a guaranteed contract as well. Clark’s rookie salary starts at a little over $76,000. According to Spotrac, Clark will make $76,535 in her first year of a four-year, $338,056 contract with the Fever. It’ll increase to $78,066 in Year 2 and $85,873 in Year 3.
Caitlin Clark wants to bring championship back to Indiana
Clark, who had already earned the title as the best player in the nation, outdid herself in her senior season with the Hawkeyes. In 39 games, she posted averages of 31.6 points, 8.9 assists and 7.4 rebounds per game. Clark shot 45.5% from the field and 37.8% from behind the arc. She led the Hawkeyes to their second consecutive Women’s Basketball National Championship Game.
With a pair of made free throw attempts against Ohio State in the regular season finale last month, Clark passed “Pistol” Pete Maravich’s 3,667 career points scored at LSU to sit atop the Division I college basketball all-time scoring list. Maravich’s mark stood for more than 50 years before Clark broke the record.
One year removed from finishing 13-27 and last in the Eastern Conference, the Fever are the most bet on team to win the WNBA championship next season, according to FanDuel Sportsbook. Indiana currently has +2000 odds to win their second WNBA title.
“That’s definitely our goal, is to get back to championship habits,” Clark said. “I’m very lucky to be going there to an organization that really loves women’s basketball. You see it today, I think they had 17,000 tickets claimed to just watch the draft. I think that shows the excitement in Indianapolis. It’s a great basketball city.
“For myself, I can’t imagine a more perfect fit, a better place for me to start my professional career, an organization that really just believes in women’s basketball and wants to do everything the right way. So I couldn’t be more excited to get there.”
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