Biden wades into Caitlin Clark contract controversy after WNBA Draft

Caitlin Clark’s new WNBA salary went viral, and even President Biden is taking notice.

Clark, selected No. 1 overall by the Indiana Fever on Monday in the 2024 WNBA Draft, is set to make $76,535 her rookie year and $338,056 over the next four seasons, according to Spotrac.

WNBA salaries have been a topic for years — often forcing players to go overseas to play in the WNBA offseason — but Clark’s rise in stardom has brought new interest — and opinions — to the sport.

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Caitlin Clark was the No. 1 pick in the WNBA Draft by the Indiana Fever.Getty Images
“Women in sports continue to push new boundaries and inspire us all,” Biden wrote on X. “But right now we’re seeing that even if you’re the best, women are not paid their fair share.

“It’s time that we give our daughters the same opportunities as our sons and ensure women are paid what they deserve.”

Clark was taken No. 1 overall by the Indiana Fever on Monday night after leading Iowa to back-to-back national championship game appearances.

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President Biden is pushing for female athletes to get paid more.REUTERS
For comparison, Victor Wembanyama, the No. 1 pick of the Spurs in the 2023 NBA Draft, will make $55.1 million over four years.

The Hawkeyes’ loss to South Carolina in the national championship game was viewed by 18.7 million people and peaked at 24 million — the most-watched hoops broadcast of any kind since the 2019 men’s championship game between Texas Tech and Virginia.

However, Clark’s NCAA popularity will do little to impact her rookie salary given the current financial realities of the WNBA.

The WNBA currently makes $60 million a season from their TV contracts ESPN, CBS, ION and Amazon, per Front Office Sports.

Also, NBA players get 50 percent of revenue from broadcast rights and ticket sales per the deal with the union.

WNBA players only get 50 percent of the league’s excess money after it hits a certain revenue target.

WNBA commissioner Cathy Engelbert recently told CNBC the hope is “to double our rights fees” when they expire in 2025.

“Women’s sports rights fees have been undervalued for too long, so we have this enormous opportunity at a time where the media landscape is changing so much,” Engelbert said.

Angel Reese, Caitlin Clark and Cameron Brink at the WNBA Draft.AP

Even before Clark’s arrival, the WNBA saw ratings growth by averaging 505,000 viewers per game last season — their most in 21 years, per Fox News.

The WNBA draft on Monday night, which also included Stanford’s Cameron Brink and LSU’s Angel Reese, shattered previous ratings records with

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Clark will make her WNBA debut on May 14 against the Connecticut Sun and 36 of the Fever’s 40 games will be featured on national television.

Hoda Kotb of “Today,” Steelers quarterback Russell Wilson and former ESPN columnist Jemele Hill were among the other famous names to weigh in on Clark’s WNBA contract.