It is no secret that Caitlin Clark’s pay from the WNBA is significantly less than her NBA counterpart, and one daughter of an NBA star had one reaction to this fact on social media.
Asjia O’Neal, daughter of six-time NBA All-Star Jermaine O’Neal, reacted to the side-by-side comparison of the rookie salary of Catilin Clark and NBA star Victor Wembenyama.
“Sighhh 😢😔” Asjia captioned her story when she saw the numbers.
Based on records, Victor Wembenyama was paid a $12.16 million base salary during his rookie year with the San Antonio Spurs. On the other hand, Caitlin Clark’s rookie salary under the Indiana Fever was only reportedly $76,535.
Both Wemby and Clark were first overall picks for their respective league’s draft year.
The pay gap between the NBA and WNBA has been a longstanding issue, with WNBA players earning significantly less than their NBA counterparts. This disparity is due to several factors, including revenue differences, media coverage, and public perception.
Recently, Chicago Sky star Angel Reese opened up about her thoughts on the issue of WNBA players getting significantly less pay. In one episode of her podcast “Unapologetically Angel,” Reese opened up that with talks of a new Collective Bargaining Agreement, some players may be willing to sit games out if they do not get the pay they think they deserve.
“Yeah, the CBA is coming up,” Reese said on the podcast episode. “We deserve more. Everybody, everybody. But we have to face the consequences? The women coming in next year are probably gonna be making more than us. I gotta get in the meetings. Because I’m hearing… If y’all don’t give us what we want, we sitting out.”
https://youtu.be/XwzdV-LZOSw
Reese eventually faced backlash for the comment, with fans pointing out several reasons why WNBA can never get paid the same amount as NBA players are getting paid for.
Caitlin Clark’s Agent Gets Honest With Pay Issue
In a previous interview with ESPN, Erin Kane, agent to Caitlin Clark, also opened up about her thoughts on the issue of WNBA players getting paid less than they are actually worth.
“Will Caitlin Clark ever be paid by the WNBA what she’s really worth to that league? I don’t think that’s possible,” said Kane. “She’s part of a larger player body. They all need to be paid more. She should be recognized for what she has done and what she’s brought to the league from an economic standpoint. It’s as simple as that.”
Caitlin Clark continues to prepare for the tip-off for the 2025 WNBA season.
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