Danny Avdia's landing in Israel after a record season with the Washington Wizards/photo: Niv Aharonson. Video editing: Shiran Golan
Caitlin Clarke has already started to make a difference when it comes to the attitude towards women's basketball in the United States, but her move to the WNBA may also have financial implications.
After being selected first in the WNBA draft yesterday by the Indiana Fever, the website "Sportrac" revealed the salary that Clark, who became a phenomenon that conquered America, will earn in the coming years. This is by all accounts an insulting salary for an actress in her position (without taking into account the high sums that she will likely pocket from advertising contracts): in total, as part of her rookie contract, the 22-year-old guard will earn in the next four years only $338,056, which will be distributed to her gradually. In her first year in the league, she will earn only $76,535, and if Indiana signs her to a new contract in 2027, her salary will increase to $97,582 a year.
These data drew many reactions in the United States, where they were quick to compare the conditions of the female players in the WNBA to the players in the NBA, despite different opening data (the WNBA season lasts only four months, and many of the female players play the rest of the year outside the United States).
Just for comparison, Victor Wombanayama, the star of San Antonio who was selected first in the last NBA draft, immediately after joining the league received a rookie contract of 55.2 million dollars for four years. For that matter, just to explain the ear - even the mascots of the NBA teams (usually these are men who manipulate some kind of puppet, and provide entertainment to the audience during timeouts and halves) earn a higher salary than Caitlin Clark.
"Rocky", the mascot of the Denver Nuggets, earns about 625,000 dollars a year - many times more than the salary that Clark will earn this year. On average, an NBA mascot earns about $60,000 a year.
The absurd gap and the lively discussion in the American media on the subject, reached Joe Biden's desk. The president tweeted: "Women continue to test the limits of our sports, and provide inspiration to all of us. Unfortunately, we are aware that even the best in your field, as a woman, will not receive the salary you deserve," Biden wrote, and read: "It is time for our daughters to receive the same opportunities as our sons, it's time for female athletes to get what they deserve."
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On the practical level, nothing has yet been done to correct the distortion, but in the meantime Caitlin Clark has managed to put it on the agenda - and that's no small thing either.