After an explosive ending to the NCAA women’s basketball tournament season, all eyes are on its players.
Several college basketball stars committed to the WNBA this year, including Angel Reese, Cameron Brink, Caitlin Clark, and Kamilla Cardoso—and everyone’s excited about the league’s upcoming year.
With the spotlight aimed at women basketball players, comes additional scrutiny over WNBA salaries. This week, reports surfaced about Clark’s starting salary. According to CBS News, the 22-year-old, who was this year’s first draft pick in the WNBA, will begin with a salary of $76,535 and earn around $338,000 during her four-year contract.
And the enthusiasm surrounding the WNBA and its low wages has come with some jokes, including X user, @AskWhy05's viral tweet from Monday. "Man when the WNBA players start getting $100m’s and tricking off and flyin n***as out on the road>>>," he wrote.
The responses saw users laugh about becoming basketball husbands, which includes scenarios like getting flewed out, pregnant, and being the sneaky link.
In addition to the aforementioned players, people also poked fun at A’ja Wilson, who’s been a power forward for the Las Vegas Aces since 2018.
As for the newly recruited WNBA stars: Reese, who played for LSU and Maryland, is coming to the Chicago Sky, as is Cardoso, who played for South Carolina and Syracuse. Brink is heading to the Los Angeles Sparks and Clark is gearing up for the Indiana Fever.
While Clark's salary isn't high, she does have brand deals where she's making a lot more money—something that isn't the case for most players. Today, news surfaced that she reportedly landed an eight-figure endorsement deal with Nike, which includes her own signature shoe.
The draft’s second, third, and fourth picks—Brink, Cardoso, and Rickea Jackson, respectively—will also earn the same as Clark in their first year. Each player’s salary will increase in small increments over the following years: $78,066 in 2025, $85,873 in 2026, and $97,582 in 2027. Reese was this year's seventh pick.
That's a lot less than what NBA players make. CBS notes that the NBA’s first pick in last year’s draft, Victor Wembanyama, made over $12 million for the 2023-24 season, his rookie year.
