Caitlin Clark likely put to rest the tiresome takes around her taking a pay cut to join the WNBA when she signed a 10-figure deal with Nike this spring, but in case sports media pontificators like Darren Rovell need any further clarity on the topic, ESPN analyst Chiney Ogwumike set the record straight in a new column at The Players’ Tribune.
In a piece titled “Allow Us To Reintroduce Ourselves,” Ogwumike highlighted WNBA players’ disproportionate revenue share with team owners and viewership growth as opportunities for players like Clark to help the league seize on, but also pointed out once again that top players do not take a pay “cut” stepping from NIL deals to WNBA life.
“This is for the people that say it’s not “smart” for top women’s players to give up NIL money for the W. *cough cough Darren Rovell*” Ogwumike wrote. “At the pro level, financial opportunities and the freedom to pursue them have no limits … And two, they want the challenge.”
Ogwumike also brought the numbers, referencing estimates from Bloomberg that the WNBA made $102 million in revenue in 2019 and upwards of $200 million in 2023, pushing back on common perception that the league is in shambles financially.
“It’s time for WNBA players to get a higher percentage of the league’s basketball-related income,” Ogwumike wrote. “They deserve much more than the 10 percent that the players earn now. And when that happens, the rookie salary won’t look as crazy, instead it would hit a solid six figures.”
Clark will make her WNBA regular season debut on Tuesday in Connecticut.
From an ESPN analyst like Ogwumike to executives at Nike to Clark or Angel Reese personally, the cottage industries around these young women basketball players are telling the sports world there is money in the WNBA.
About Brendon Kleen
Brendon is a Media Commentary staff writer at Awful Announcing. He has also covered basketball and sports business at Front Office Sports, SB Nation, Uproxx and more.