It has been clear since her college basketball days that Caitlin Clark was going to take the world of women’s sports by storm. Her phenomenal rookie season in the WNBA basically reaffirmed that statement.
The Indiana Fever star drew significant attention to women’s basketball, and it seemed like all big brands were competing to get her to endorse them. Despite making just $100,000 from her WNBA contract, Clark made an astonishing $11.1 million in endorsements. Due to this, she has already made the top ten list of highest-paid female athletes, as per Sportico.
Tennis star Coco Gauff tops the list with $30.4 million, followed by skier Eileen Gu with $22.1 million. Top three to seven are all tennis players: Iga Świątek ($21.4 million), Zheng Qinwen ($20.6 million), Aryna Sabalenka ($17.7 million), Naomi Osaka ($15.9 million), and Emma Raducanu ($14.7 million). World No. 1 golfer Nelly Korda is on top eight with $14.4 million, followed by Olympic gymnast Simone Biles, whose salary is $35,000 more than Caitlin Clark’s.
Highest-paid female athletes of 2024 via @Sportico
▪️ Top 15 earned $221M, up 27%
▪️ Coco Gauff the 3rd woman to crack $30M after Serena, Osaka
▪️ Top 15 includes 9 tennis players
▪️ Newcomers in top 10: Caitlin Clark, Zheng QinwenFull breakdown: https://t.co/HLb5PT7FTr pic.twitter.com/NmlGw2ysX4
— Kurt Badenhausen (@kbadenhausen) December 4, 2024
Clark’s current list of endorsements include Wilson Sporting Goods Co., Gatorade, Nike, Bose, State Farm, Buick, Topps, Shoot-A-Way, Hy-Vee, H&R Block, and Goldman Sachs. Some of these brands have been with her since college.
Unrivaled League’s president clears things on Caitlin Clark snub
Caitlin Clark could have earned more if she accepted the offer to join the Unrivaled league, the new three-on-three women’s basketball tournament set to debut in January. However, she decided to decline the reportedly lucrative offer from the league.
Moreover, Unrivaled league president Alex Bazell confirmed in a Sunday interview that as much as they wanted Clark in, the decision to expand the initial rosters was primarily to get Connecticut Sun star Alyssa Thomas to join them.
“Because of [adding six roster spots], we were able to then get AT involved,” Bazell explained. “Because originally she was going to go play overseas and then changed her mind, and we’re like, ‘Well, we gotta figure out a way for AT to play.’ So people think it was like, ‘Well, let’s make extra roster spots so we can give ourselves more time to recruit Caitlin.’
“That’s not entirely true. It was more about we already have players ready to come in [and] we want to make sure that they’re a part of this. At the same time, like, of course, I’ve been on record saying Caitlin will always have a spot in our league, and that is true, right?”
Caitlin Clark hustled hard in the college basketball playoff twice before making her WNBA debut, so she reportedly wanted to get some time to rest and recuperate while waiting for the next WNBA season. The Unrivaled league supported her decision while leaving the door open for her participation in the future.
“We always want to be a home for the best of the best,” Bazell continued. “We went through our negotiations. Inevitably, she needed time this offseason, which we respect, so we hope to see her next year. She won’t be playing this year.”
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Dan has been active in sports since 2016 and has worked behind the scenes as a scriptwriter for basketball, volleyball, and other sports. At a time, Dan has also been working as a sports commentator for CBA Pilipinas. During the pandemic, he has also been actively writing betting articles for CashBet and BetNow.
