Compensation and Caitlin
Champions, sort of
Caitlin’s criticism
Hard to understand
Dollars and sense
Downgrade?
Thinking about cash
Solutions
Shifting landscape
Pay raises
Roster increases
Clark’s compensation
Massive climb

Compensation and Caitlin

Caitlin Clark has brought in droves of fans and attention to the WNBA, and it seems like she wants the league to do a better job of acting like a prominent sports operation.

Champions, sort of

The Indiana Fever are still looking for their first WNBA title with Caitlin Clark as their centerpiece, but they did bring home some hardware without her. The Fever won the 2025 Commissioner’s Cup, which allowed them to celebrate in the middle of the season.

Caitlin’s criticism

However, Clark made something of a poignant statement after the Commissioner’s Cup final game. It was related to the prize money the Fever and past Cup champions have earned.

Hard to understand

Clark said on a live social media post, “You get more (money) for this than you do if you’re the (WNBA Finals) champion. It makes no sense. Someone tell WNBA commissioner Cathy Engelbert to help us out.” She also jokingly referred to the tournament as the “Cathy Cup.”

Dollars and sense

According to The New York Times, Commissioner’s Cup champions receive a $500,000 purse, which is split amongst the winning team’s players. As noted by the league’s website, each team has a maximum of 12 players, so each Fever player would have received at least $41,666 for the victory.

Downgrade?

To Clark’s point, players on WNBA championship teams receive $11,356 each. It is hard to fathom that a relatively meaningless in-season tournament could be compensated at nearly four times the rate of an actual championship.

Thinking about cash

Before the Commissioner’s Cup final, Indiana head coach Stephanie White told The New York Times, “I think the money has been more top of the mind for players than anything else.”

Solutions

Based on Clark’s criticism, it would seem as if the WNBA has two feasible options. It could notably boost the winning prize for WNBA champions to exceed winnings for the Commissioner’s Cup, or it could take some money out of the Commissioner’s Cup purse and transfer it to the WNBA champion. It’s going to be interesting to see if the prize ratio changes in the near future now that Clark has spoken out.

Shifting landscape

ESPN’s Kevin Pelton and Michael Voepel have been keeping an eye on the league’s collective bargaining agreement negotiations. WNBA All-Star and union president Nneka Ogwumike told ESPN, “This league is transforming. As a players association, we want to evolve with it and have that be reflected in how players are taken care of and how our protections are not getting lapped by the evolution of this league.”

Pay raises

Pelton wrote, “The last renegotiation boosted the maximum salaries for stars from $117,500 in 2019 to $215,000 in 2020, with the cap jumping by more than 30 percent from $996,100 per team to $1.3 million. Larger increases are likely this time thanks to improved WNBA revenue streams.”

Roster increases

The players union will likely also fight for increased roster spots per team. Ogwumike told ESPN, “I’ve played more years than I wanted to with only eight available players. I don’t think that’s indicative of a pro league.”

Clark’s compensation

Clark made just over $76,000 in her rookie year in the WNBA. That figure increased to $78,000 in year two. She’ll make over $85,000 in year three and over $97,000 in year four. These figures are sourced from Spotrac.