The way Caitlin Clark is covered by the mainstream media and she was raved about by the WNBA and its commissioner, you would assume that she would at least be making as much as she did in college, where she had an NIL valuation that peaked at $3.1 million.
1. Caitlin Clark 4-year/$338,056
The NIL bag is almost 10 times more than what Clark will be paid in her first four-year WNBA contract.
As the No. 1 overall pick in the 2024 WNBA draft, Clark will receive a four-year contract worth a total of $338,056, which is the same for the top four draft picks according to the league’s Collective Bargaining Agreement.
2. Cameron Brink 4-year/$338,056
Cameron Brink was selected by the Los Angeles Sparks at No. 2 overall in the 2024 WNBA Draft, and her contract details are similar to Clark’s and Cardoso’s.
According to Spotrac, Brink will sign a four-year contract worth $338,056 and will make $76,535 during her rookie season. In 2025, Brink will make $78,066 and will then make $85,873 in 2026.
3. Kamilla Cardoso 4-year/$338,056
Kamilla Cardoso, the 6-foot-7 national champion out of University of South Carolina via Brazil, received a four-year deal, valued at $338,056, according to Spotrac, and Cardoso is set to earn $76,535 in her rookie season. Additionally, the contract includes a fourth-year option worth $97,582.
3. Rickea Jackson (Los Angeles Sparks) 4-year/$338,056
Jackson has a four-year deal valued at $338,056. She’ll have an option in Year 4 of the deal once the 2027 cycle begins. The No. 4 overall pick is the highest pick out of Tennessee since Diamond Deshields was pick No. 3 in 2018.
Jackson was one of two lottery picks for the Sparks, and general manager Raegan Pebley called them “foundational.”
5. Jacey Sheldon (Ohio State) 4-year/324,383
Since Sheldon was taken with the fifth pick, the pay slots begin to decrease a bit. She falls into the second highest-tier for WNBA rookie contracts. Sheldon is expected to make $73,439 as a rookie and that amount will increase every year of her deal.
Based on the league’s CBA, 2024 rookies taken anywhere from the fifth to eighth picks will make $324,383 if they remain under contract for all four seasons, with the fourth year being a team option.
6. Aaliyah Edwards (Minnesota Lynx) 4-year/$324,000
As the No. 6 pick in the draft, Edwards will also make over $324,000 as a new post piece for Cheryl Reeves’ Minnesota Lynx.
7. Angel Reese (Chicago Sky) 4-year/$324,000
Angel Reese was the No. 7 overall pick of the Chicago Sky and the franchise’s second pick of the draft.
Reese will reportedly sign a four-year deal worth over $324,000 with the Chicago Sky. In addition to her NIL valuation, which exceeded $2 million in college and her 2.9 million Instagram followers, which is 1 million more than Clark has, Reese won the Most Outstanding Player award in the Final Four and guided the Tigers to the 2022–23 national championship. She was also voted BET Sportswomen of the Year and unanimously selected to be on the first team of the All-America squad.
We know people will complain that the men make so much more, but that’s really not the point. Women’s hoops has to find a way to make itself more marketable in addition to the new eyes that are on it for the time being. The brands these women have already created will elevate to a next level on the professional stage without the restrictions of amateur rules, and off the court, through endorsements, is how most of them will make the bulk of their riches. As well as push the WNBA forward.
