When you’re part of a struggling league that is a frequent money-loser that magically, overnight multiplies its viewership and, in turn, multiplies each franchise’s valuations exponentially due to a sudden surge of popularity led by one player in particular, you naturally can’t pass up the opportunity to rag on said person who’s helping you.
Caitlin Clark is not the only reason women’s basketball has seen both its viewership and respect from the casual sports fan grow in the past few years, but she’s firmly at the forefront of it. And yet, time and time again, her fellow peers throw shade or outright diss her seemingly every other day. And it makes little to no sense.
The latest incident came following the WNBA All-Star game this weekend, with members of Team Clark and Team (Napheesa) Collier donning T-shirts with “Pay Us What You Owe Us” displayed for all to see. This comes amid the WNBA’s Collective Bargaining Agreement negotiations, with the players opting out of the current CBA that was put in place in 2020. With so much fanfare gained since then, it’s more than fair to renegotiate, despite the WNBA being a big-time money loser in the past.
Postgame, rising star Sabrina Ionescu and Kelsey Plum, one of the league’s top established stars, spoke at a press conference and were asked about the shirts. The two players said the right things about the revenue share discussions, but, naturally, the conversation had to turn into a verbal jab at Clark.
“The T-shirt, this united front, was decided (Sunday) morning,” Plum said. “Not to tattletale, but zero members of Team Clark were very present for that.”
“That really needed to be mentioned,” Ionescu said with an eyeroll.
That may seem pretty tame, but it’s really just the straw that broke the camel’s back for a lot of sports fans, myself included. This is a big moment for the players, who frankly deserve a higher percentage of pay (more on that later), but it instead led to a joke at Clark’s expense. Plum said she was just “trying to make the situation lighter,” but it definitely didn’t do that.
When Clark led her Iowa Hawkeyes team to the national championship against LSU in 2023, it started the war between LSU’s Angel Reese and Clark – a war that still lingers to this day. Reese became an unwilling villain, despite frequently egging on Clark and making statements declaring herself on par with Clark in helping the sport’s sudden surge. Clark has been often ridiculed by former WNBA stars for not being as good as her star indicates, and she’s been the focal point of racial debates as she is a white woman making waves in a league predominantly made up of black women.
It’s all been tiresome, to tell you the truth, which is why I’ve mostly stayed away from talking about it in public. But this specific issue isn’t merely about how people feel, but this could shape the future of women’s basketball.
As it stands now, WNBA players bring in 9% of all the league’s revenue. For reference, NBA players bring in roughly half of the league’s revenue. NFL players get just a little bit less than their NBA counterparts.
I’m not advocating for the WNBA players to reach that threshold considering the league reportedly has lost money every year, but they do deserve a bigger piece of the pie. Just look at the Las Vegas Aces, for example, Plum’s former home. Las Vegas Raiders owner Mark Davis bought the Aces for $2 million in 2021. Now, just four years later, the franchise is valued at $310 million, according to Forbes. Let me just whip out my calculator real quick … that’s a 15,400% increase, which is an incomprehensible figure.
And the Aces aren’t even the highest valued WNBA franchise, falling behind the New York Liberty ($400 million) and Clark’s Indiana Fever ($370 million), also according to Forbes.
Clark’s salary in 2025 is right at $78,000. That is insultingly low for the amount of attention she brings to the league. Gone are the days of “kitchen” jokes and demeaning rhetoric surrounding the upstart sport. Now, it’s something to be taken seriously. The owners included.
And yet, Clark still receives constant ridicule from her peers and those surrounding the sport. A great example of a star athlete being the tide that lifts all boats is the impact Tiger Woods had on the PGA Tour. Golfers make an insane amount of money now compared to before Woods burst onto the scene. Do you think they appreciated him at the time and appreciate him now? Compare that to the attitude WNBA players have towards Clark. It’s night and day, and it’s why it will take a much longer time for the WNBA to be taken as seriously as it should by the masses.
With that being said, pay them what they deserve.
