Caitlin Clark’s WNBA rookie card sold for a record-breaking $660,000, more than eight times its $76,000 salary.
From the reluctance of male viewers to the sellout Nike Collaboration Minthe WNBA’s momentum cannot be denied. Now, Kate Linklark memorabilia is crushing auction records. annual salary.
Clark’s Rookie Royalty WNBA Perfect LogOrman Card, 1 Memorial, Sold for A Last Thursday night, it was a whopping $660,000.
It’s a rare find for collectors as the card is signed and Clark’s scores in his rookie season at Indiana Fever, and includes a logo man patch decorated on the WNBA jersey.
The card began with an extended bid price of $336,000. This is the previous selling price for Clark’s 2024 Panini Prizm WNBA Signatures Gold Vinyl 1/1 PSA 10. But when it was sold for almost twice as much, the collector’s items made history for the most money made in public auctions for female athletes. That’s a far cry from what a superstar makes in a year.
In fact, Clark is less than the average New Yorker. Last year, despite being the number one draft pick in the WNBA, she only earned a salary of $76,535 in her first year at Indiana Fever. Her card, which won hundreds of thousands at auction, is more than 8.6 times her annual salary, so that’s rock bottom wages for women’s basketball developments. Even on Clark’s four-year contract, her totalling $338,000 is about half the value of the card.
WNBA wages were unable to continue walking The rapid increase in popularity;Last year, the Women’s NCAA March Madnest Tournament Finals tuned 18.7 million viewers compared to 14.82 million people watching the men’s final game. However, the first pick of the NBA season was expected to make $10.5 million, 137 times more than what Clark makes in a year.
“Pay us what you owe us”: WNBA players leaning on nil deals and side hustles to achieve the end
Clark is one of the biggest names in the US sports, with fellow stars Cameron Brink, Ricketer Jackson and Angel Rees supporting the league’s crushing records. But their pay is in stark contrast to their cultural and business impact.
2023, average WNBA The player made it Compared to a typical NBA Hooper, a base of $113,295 a year makes around $9.7 million. Low wages for women in the league have been a hot topic of discussion. About 40 players recently met with the WNBA and negotiated compensation. Could not reach New Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA). Basketball star I had opted out Of the last CBA in October 2024, they wanted to mediate a better revenue sharing model, a higher salary, greener benefits, and a more generous salary cap.
However, negotiations fell apart, prompting Clark and other WNBA players to wear “pay what you owe us” t-shirts ahead of last Saturday’s All-Star Game. The sold-out arena tuned at home with over 16,000 participants and millions of viewers, saw the stars rebound against long-standing issues. Currently, WNBA Hooper receives 9.3% of the league’s revenue. By comparison, NBA players earn between 49% and 51% of the league’s basketball-related revenue.
“This is not a laughing matter. This is not a trend. This is not a moment,” said A’ja Wilson, a Las Vegas ace player and three-time league MVP. I said NPR. “You’re dealing with me, my living, my future, my generation, so we’re trying to take this very seriously.”
luck I contacted the WNBA for comment.
WNBA players will make millions of side hustles instead
Recently I’ve been in WNBA signature The $2.2 billion media deals with an expansion fee of $250 million. Female athletes don’t attract millions of people from the sport itself. Instead, many female basketball stars are becoming creative in ways that supplement their income.
One popular way is through the transaction of names, images, and caricatures (nil). I made $3.1 million The final year of her university duties since her 2023 NIL contract.
There is also an option to play overseas. Olympian Brittney Grinner earned four times his WNBA salary in Russia, earning over $1 million.
Others who don’t have a million dollar brand deals have to resort to juggling part-time jobs. Chiney Ogwumike, who played for the Los Angeles Sparks, was later a basketball analyst and host of ESPN. Hailey Jones, a guard with the Dallas Wings, also commented on the NBA TV and the WNBA Finals. And Alisha Gray, a dream of Atlanta, has a side hustle with wings and burgers flaping as the owner of the WNB Factory Restaurant.