Caitlin Clark’s Rookie Salary With Indiana Fever Draws Angry Fan Reactions

Right after she was drafted, Spotrac shared the projected rookie contract that Clark is set to sign with the Fever. And to say that it’s disappointing is quite the understatement.

Clark is set for a four-year contract worth $338,056. She’ll get $76,535 in her first year, $78,066 in her second year, $85,873 in her third year and $97,582 in the final year of the contract.

That definitely pales in comparison to what NBA players are getting. In fact, a severe fine for an NBA player is already much bigger than her first-year salary. Remember, Rudy Gobert got slapped with a $100,000 fine after doing a money gesture towards a referee during a game.

Now, context is key here. The WNBA is still growing and revenue has yet to catch up to the NBA. They simply can’t afford to pay the women’s players the same money the men’s stars are getting.

Nonetheless, there’s no denying that Clark’s impact is massive. She sells out games and merchandises. A lot of people watch whenever she plays, and the WNBA knows that very well–so much so that they even scheduled plenty of national TV games for the Fever in the 2024-25 season.

With that said, seeing the kind of money she’ll get is definitely quite disappointing, to say the least.

Fans React To Caitlin Clark’s WNBA Contract

Several fans took to X (formerly Twitter) to share their disbelief over the contract situation of Caitlin Clark. Let’s not forget that the Indiana Fever rookie had an NIL valuation worth $3.1 million when she was with the Iowa Hawkeyes.

Considering that, some would expect that she’ll get paid bigger in the pro level. But as everyone would know, that’s not how things work in the pro scene since there are certain limitations teams have when it comes to contracts.

Still, that didn’t stop fans from expressing their shock.

“They need to pay them more.. that’s ridiculous,” a fan commented on Spotrac’s post on X. Another one called out the WNBA, saying “WNBA needs to step their game up. CC didn’t need to go to a 4 year college to make $75k per year. Thats ridiculous.”

A third supporter shared, “That’s honestly just sad.” Another one said, “No offense, but this salary seems… not great for the top pick in WNBA. Imagine being the #1 prospect in the country out of college in your profession and making only $76k your first year. Are ticket sales really that low? I guess she’ll make more in endorsements and ads?”

Clark, as many others pointed out, should be able to make a lot more money through sponsorships and endorsements. But at the end of the day, the league could certainly do better in order to better take care of its players.