Iowa’s Caitlin Clark is undoubtedly the most popular athlete in college basketball right now. In the upcoming WNBA Draft, she is unanimously projected to be the number one draft pick. In addition to that, hip-hop legend Ice Cube’s Big 3 also wants Clark to play for them during the off-season, and they are reportedly offering her a staggering $5 million for it. Recently, NBA legends Kevin Garnett and Paul Pierce talked about Clark and her Big 3 offer on The Ticket & The Truth podcast, while also discussing the salary that she will draw from the WNBA.
Advertisement
Erica Wheeler reportedly received the highest annual salary in the WNBA in 2023 with $242k from the Indiana Fever. Clark is projected to be drafted by the Fever as well. Now, with all the star power and momentum that Clark is going to bring into the league, it’s possible that she will draw a better salary than even Wheeler.
The only issue is that the WNBA doesn’t have that kind of money to give out to its players. However, Clark already has a standing offer from Ice Cube’s league. Paul Pierce said during the podcast that if he were in Clark’s position, he would take the $5 million from the Big 3 in a heartbeat.
Even if Clark accepts the offer, Pierce and Garnett believe that the Big 3 league is too physical for any player who has only played modern-day basketball. Regardless, the 22-year-old’s primary objective will be to play in the WNBA and KG doesn’t think she will settle for anything under $250k there.
He said, “She’s going to come in expecting more than that.” According to Garnett, the reason why Clark will get more in salaries than the top WNBA players is because she has momentum as the hottest commodity in college basketball at the moment. KG added, “They’re trying to make her bigger than the league on the low and…they are waiting [to do it].“
The crew also discussed that Clark is probably making $3 million right now in college from her NIL deals. Whatever may be the case, it’s safe to say that even if Clark makes only $250k/year in the WNBA in salaries, she will make a lot more from endorsement deals and commercials, thanks to her massive following.
Caitlin Clark’s only focus is the NCAA tournament
The news regarding the Big 3 offer was leaked by TMZ and Ice Cube responded to it on his social media by stating that he didn’t intend to make it public as Clark is still playing for the Championship. When the Iowa star was asked about it on Friday, she said, “I found about the Big3 thing at the exact time you all did, and my main focus is just on playing basketball. I think that’s the biggest thing.”
Clark said that the upcoming games require her full attention and for that reason she is not even giving it a thought. She also said that the people who handle her business didn’t have a word about it with her and she only was made aware of the offer through social media. Even though her priority is the NCAA tournament at the moment, it’s not a reach to think that she will seriously consider that offer simply because the money that is involved. WNBA players often play in foreign leagues during the off season to keep the money coming in. So it will be not entirely unprecedented for Clark to accept the offer.
