Caitlin Clark is one of the biggest superstars in sports right now. During her rookie season, she brought unprecedented attention to the WNBA. And now, it sounds like she’s about to get an absolutely insane offer to play in a different basketball league.
WNBA stars Breanna Stewart and Napheesa Collier have co-founded the Unrivaled 3-on-3 women’s basketball league that is set to begin in December. And according to a report from Michael McCarthy of Front Office Sports, it sounds like Caitlin Clark is about to get an absolutely massive offer to join the new league.
“Special players attract special contract offers—and compensation. The new Unrivaled women’s basketball league is considering a sweeping ‘Lionel Messi–like’ offer to entice Caitlin Clark to play in the league’s inaugural season, sources tell Front Office Sports,” McCarthy wrote for Front Office Sports on Wednesday.
“The start-up league’s ‘full-court press’ to recruit Clark is similar to the push by Major League Soccer’s Inter Miami CF to woo Messi in 2023. The club knew that salary alone was not enough to land the global superstar. So Inter Miami constructed an unprecedented package that included a contract valued at $150 million, partial ownership, and other financial incentives. Apple even agreed to share revenue from MLS Season Pass with the seven-time Ballon d’Or winner.”
Clark’s payday won’t be the $150 million plus incentives that Messi got from Inter Miami, but McCarthy reports that her salary could be more than $1 million for playing in the 3-on-3 league for less than three months.
Obviously, that’s a lot more than the $76,000 salary Clark received for playing in the WNBA her rookie season.
Needless to say, this is some pretty insane news for Clark, and it led to a lot of reactions.
“Curious as to how other players would feel. I know everyone will have ownership share, but not sure if that includes the media deal. Truth is: CC is not nearly close to Messi. If Unrivaled stand for fairness, then that’s a big miss. Either offer all players the same contract or be transparent about why some are different than others,” women’s basketball journalist Roberta Rodrigues said in a post on X. “Can’t possibly imagine how DiJonai Carrington, who was one of the main targets of racism due to her rivalry with CC, will feel if CC is rewarded with a seven-figure deal despite multiple players efforts to get her to stand by them.”
“Ya know, I had a feeling that when TNT got involved and a few other sponsors, they been pushing to find a way to get Caitlin involved almost by any means necessary,” one fan wrote on X. “I think people underestimate her lighting rod power AND how much these investors see her as a guarantee ROI.”
“I can’t believe unrivaled is doing all of this just for Caitlin to turn them down so she can work on her golf drive,” another fan wrote.
“Will be interesting to see how this plays out!” another fan added.
“She’s the fourth most marketable athlete in the world. I don’t blame unrivaled for doing this. If it’s a Messi type deal. That means a big salary ($1M plus) and merch and Tv equity,” basketball media personality Daniel Artest wrote in a post.
“I hate these secondary leagues but she should absolutely do this,” another fan added.
We’ll have to see if she accepts, but this seems like an absolutely insane offer.
