Caitlin Clark being aggressively pursued by women’s basketball startup league as WNBA faces potential lockout

The WNBA paid Clark $76,535 this season

Caitlin Clark’s talents are in high demand.

The women’s basketball phenom has carried her sport to historic heights of popularity, both in college and the WNBA. In the same week the WNBA broke its viewership record for a finals game Sunday night when the Liberty beat the Lynx in Game 5, the league faces a major negotiation between players and owners.

The WNBA player’s union, the WNBPA, elected to opt out of its current contract with the league this week. The players could seek increases in revenue sharing and other perks as they negotiate a new collective bargaining agreement (CBA) with the league. The current CBA expires at the end of next season.

If no agreement is reached, the WNBA could have a potential player lockout. And while the league did improve its ratings and merchandising sales, it is still reportedly projected to lose money this year. The WNBA has never had a profitable year in its history.

If the situation devolves into a mess between the league and WNBPA, Clark will reportedly have other options.

A new startup women’s basketball league, Unrivaled, is scheduled to launch, led by current WNBA players Breanna Stewart and Napheesa Collier. Playing in Unrivaled wouldn’t prevent Clark from remaining in the WNBA because the league would be played during the WNBA offseason. However, Unrivaled will look to compete financially with the WNBA.

The biggest difference between this new league and the WNBA is Unrivaled would feature a 3-on-3 format, rather than 5-on-5. That means a greater emphasis on a smaller number of players. Unrivaled will only have 30 players in its first season, cutting down on the cost of salaries for hundreds of players like in the WNBA.

A 3-on-3 format would make Clark more important on the court and presumably off of it too.

Clark broke several WNBA records this season, including the single-season assist record and rookie scoring record, among others. She led the Indiana Fever back to the playoffs for the first time in eight years. And no player brought more eyeballs to women’s basketball than Clark. The 15 most-watched WNBA games this past season all included her.

Unrivaled is preparing to offer Clark a deal similar to the one that brought soccer legend Lionel Messi to MLS in the U.S. last year, according to a report by Front Office Sports. Inter Miami FC of the MLS coughed up $150 million, partial ownership and other financial incentives to bring Messi to the U.S.-based soccer league.

Unrivaled promises its 30 players the “highest salaries in professional women’s sports league history.”

Connecticut Sun guard DiJonai Carrington (21) fouls Indiana Fever guard Caitlin Clark (22) in the second half of a WNBA basketball game in Indianapolis, Aug. 28, 2024.  (AP Photo/Michael Conroy)

“Unrivaled is proud to offer the highest average salary in professional women’s sports league history — in addition to offering an equity stake to all athletes competing in the inaugural season,” a league spokeswoman told Front Office Sports. “While we believe Unrivaled is setting a new standard in the marketplace, we are not disclosing individual player compensation packages or league financials at this time.”

Clark’s WNBA salary her rookie year was $76,535. Next year, her salary will go up to $78,066.

The WNBA just signed an 11-year media rights deal with NBC, Disney and Amazon Prime worth around $200 million beginning in 2026.

The playoffs saw a viewership increase of more than 140% before the WNBA Finals even started, which marked the highest viewership since the league’s inaugural season in 1997.

Clark played the biggest part in this explosion in popularity. One of her playoff games generated 2.5 million viewers alone. Clark also helped the league break the single-game attendance record and challenge NFL games for viewers on multiple occasions.