Iowa ladies’s basketball star Caitlin Clark has been supplied $5 million to play in Ice Dice’s Big3 league, league co-founder Ice Dice confirmed on social media.
“We supposed the supply to stay non-public whereas Caitlin Clark performs for the championship,” Ice Dice wrote on X. “However I will not deny what’s now already on the market: BIG3 made a historic supply to Caitlin Clark. Why would not we? Caitlin is a generational athlete who can obtain great success within the BIG3.
“The skeptics laughed after we made Nancy Lieberman the primary feminine coach of a males’s professional crew, and she or he gained the championship in her first yr. Then Lisa Leslie gained all of it in yr two. With our supply, Caitlin Clark could make historical past and break down much more boundaries for ladies athletes.”
Clark, who can be taking part in within the NCAA match Candy 16 this weekend in Albany, New York, was not accessible for remark Wednesday morning. ESPN has reached out to her company, Excel, for remark.
ESPN additionally reached out to the WNBA and the league’s gamers’ union to see if Clark taking part in in one other league could possibly be allowed beneath the present collective bargaining settlement. A spokesperson for the union mentioned they have been unaware of the Big3 supply and could not remark at the moment. The league has not but responded to ESPN.
The league does have prioritization guidelines in its CBA, which may have an effect on some gamers who take part in abroad leagues. But it surely stays to be seen if these would forestall Clark’s Big3 participation.
Clark is anticipated to be the WNBA’s No. 1 draft choose on April 15 by the Indiana Fever. WNBA rookie salaries for lottery draft picks (Nos. 1-4) in 2024 are $76,535 and climb to $97,582 by their fourth season.
Clark already has a substantial endorsement portfolio with corporations reminiscent of Nike, State Farm, Gatorade and Gainbridge, which has naming rights for the sector in Indianapolis the place the WNBA’s Fever and NBA’s Pacers play.