Ice Cube's Big3 basketball league is looking to make a huge addition by offering NCAA college phenom Caitlin Clark a massive deal.
On Wednesday, TMZ Sports reported that Clark was offered a guaranteed $5 million deal to play in eight regular season games and two playoff games if her team advances to the postseason. She will also get additional compensation from merchandise and various sponsorships.
The deal will also allow her to play in the WNBA, which is what she plans to do once her college career at Iowa State is over. Clark has already declared for the WNBA Draft and is expected to go No. 1 to the Indiana Fever.
Ice Cube hopped on X, formerly Twitter, to address the news of Clark's Big3 offer. According to Cube, he wanted to keep the offer private while Clark competed in the 2024 NCAA women's basketball tournament and stated the move was a no-brainer given her astronomical success.
"We intended the offer to remain private while Caitlin Clark plays for the championship," he said. "But I won't deny what's now already out there: BIG3 made a historic offer to Caitlin Clark. Why wouldn't we? Caitlin is a generational athlete who can achieve tremendous success in the BIG3."
Cube added that his league has made history by hiring female coaches such as Nancy Lieberman and Lisa Leslie who both won championships with their respective teams. Clark can add to that history and "break down even more barriers" for women in sports.
"America's women athletes should not be forced to spend their off seasons playing in often dismal and dubious foreign countries just to make ends meet," he said. "And they should have more than just one professional option in the US at a time when American pro sports leagues are being infiltrated by autocratic, anti-women regimes such as Qatar. Our pathbreaking offer to Caitlin Clark demonstrates that BIG3 now offers another choice for athletes."
Clark is one of the biggest names in sports this year, especially after she broke "Pistol" Pete Maravich's 54-year record and became the all-time scoring leader for men and women in NCAA history.
