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Iowa women’s basketball sensation Caitlin Clark has been facing a tough decision. The senior had a fifth year of eligibility
at her disposal due to a blanket waiver given to all student-athletes during the 2020-2021 season due to COVID, or she could go pro to the WNBA.
Now, arguably the most popular women’s basketball player to ever live has made her decision. She’s stunned many by announcing that she will leave Iowa for the WNBA following this season.
In the last month, Clark has become the NCAA’s all-time leading scorer in women’s basketball, and will soon pass Pete Maravich for the all-time scoring title for either men’s or women’s basketball. Currently, she has 3,650 points in her illustrious career.
This year has been her best season yet. Clark is averaging 32.2 points, 7.4 rebounds, and 8.7 assists per game for the sixth-ranked Hawkeyes. But, she really burst onto the mainstream sports scene last year, when she helped Iowa upset heavily-favored South Carolina in the Final Four, before losing to LSU in the national title game.
Why is this stunning? Simply put, it’s likely that Caitlin Clark will have to take a pay cut. Her salary next year will be around $75,000, based on the current scale. Obviously, she’s going to make a lot more than that in endorsements, of which she has plenty. But, I still think it’s less than it would be if she was in college next year.
NIL allows her to earn a ton of money. A lot of that comes from sponsors that she will still have in the WNBA. But, Iowa boosters could pay her far more than $75k to come back next year. I’d venture to guess that number would be in the seven-figure range. Plus, let’s face it, women’s college basketball games have a lot more viewers than WNBA games.
Last year’s title game between LSU and Iowa was watched by roughly 9.9 million people. In comparison, the most recent WNBA finals between two star-studded teams in the Las Vegas Aces and the New York Liberty averaged 728k viewers. If you’re a sponsor, wouldn’t you rather have her playing in college basketball for as long as possible.
Either way, that’s not the case. Caitlin Clark will be heading to the WNBA, likely to the Indiana Fever, who hold the first pick.
Iowa takes on second-ranked Ohio State on Sunday in what will be Caitlin Clark’s last home game.