It's said that female athletes are paid less than male athletes because they don’t attract the attention, eyeballs or sponsorships. That is until Caitlin Clark. Caitlin Clark brought more eyeballs to Women’s Basketball than anyone before her . . . and her games had more viewers.
The Iowa star scored 30 points against South Carolina in the women’s NCAA Tournament championship game.
Clark passed the late Pete Maravich of LSU (3,667) on March 3 to become the career D-I scoring leader among men or women.
Let's see the difference in pay between women and men in professional basketball:
2024'S NO. 1 WNBA DRAFT PICK
Caitlin Clark
Rookie Contract:
4 years, $338,056
- 2024: $76,535
- 2025: $78,066
- 2026: $85,873
- 2027: $97,582 (option)
2023'S NO. 1 NBA DRAFT PICK
Victor Wembanyama of the San Antonio Spurs
Rookie Contract:
4 years, $55 million
2023: $12,160,680
2024: $12,768,960
2025: $13,376,880 (option)
2026: $16,868,246 (option)
Now giving Victor Wembanyama credit . . . he is 7’4” tall French and he is the team leader in points and rebounds and blocks on the Spurs and is called the best NBA prospect in a generation.
But are there any extra people that are watching basketball that wouldn’t be watching basketball because of him?
No.
So, pay Caitlin more.