The Big 3 league tried to get in on the Caitlin Clark mania this spring with a monster $5 million offer for her to play in the 3-on-3 basketball league this summer. While Clark turned them down to focus on her WNBA career and a potential run with the U.S. national team in Paris, league president Jeff Kwatinetz revealed in an essay that the Big 3’s offer to Clark was even bigger than previously reported.
The Big 3 offered Clark a two-year, $10 million contract in addition to a percentage of team ownership, half of all merch revenues for products featuring her name or likeness, and a seven-figure advance plus ownership on a documentary on her time in the league, according to Kwatinetz. The league also promised that the legendary Nancy Lieberman would be her coach.
Ice Cube's Big3 league reportedly offered Caitlin Clark over $15M, with a salary, team ownership, merchandise profits, and a documentary stake, per @TMZ_Sports & @Outkick
“The deal came with a $10 million salary over two years, a percentage of team ownership, half of merch… pic.twitter.com/hEEO0hNgcz
— NBACentral (@TheDunkCentral) April 24, 2024
Kwatinetz’s article also features several far-fetched allegations (including that men in Clark’s camp hid the offer from her to prop up “the NBA mob”) and factual inaccuracies (he ignores Jeanie Buss owning the Los Angeles Lakers to claim there are no women NBA owners). But the details of the league’s offer to Clark are massive.
Kwatinetz estimates a $15 million valuation in total to play in the Big 3’s ten-game season, which will be broadcast on CBS this summer.
Instead, Clark is going the more traditional route. She will play for the Indiana Fever in the WNBA and is among the candidates to join the U.S. women’s national basketball team roster in Paris this summer. She recently signed a reported eight-year, $28 million deal with Nike. While the Big 3 offer would not have precluded her from the WNBA, it likely would have prevented her from playing in the Olympics.
Clark can now pursue a pro career on her own terms, with seemingly no limit on the attention and investment she can bring in for herself, the Fever, and the WNBA.
[Outkick]
