Donald Trump sees Caitlin Clark's WNBA deal as ‘unfair’
Donald Trump criticized Caitlin Clark's WNBA salary as unfair, addressing the disparity with NBA rookie contracts.
Former US President Donald Trump has weighed in on the salary of Caitlin Clark, the WNBA’s 2024 rookie sensation, calling her standard contract “unfair” given her talent.
Clark was the first overall pick in the 2024 WNBA draft and joined the Indiana Fever under the league’s standard rookie terms. Her contract offers her an annual salary of $76,535, totalling roughly $338,000 over four years with the Fever, per CBS News.
Is Trump criticizing Clark over salary disparity unfair?
The topic is a bit subjective. To illustrate the disparity, take NBA rookie Victor Wembanyama, the first-round pick in 2023. Drafted by the San Antonio Spurs, Wembanyama’s rookie season earnings amounted to $12.7 million, with projections suggesting he’ll make $55.6 million over his initial four years—figures that far outpace Clark’s earnings.
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The ex-prez spoke about Clark’s situation on ex-NFL coach Bill Belichick’s Let’s Go podcast, acknowledging her impact on the game. “She’s incredible, by the way. I watch, too. I think she’s incredible. The shot, I watch this shot go in. It’s like, couldn’t she shoot that way in the NBA? Give her the ball. She’s unbelievable. It’s a phenomena. It’s something that is taking place, and it’s unusual,” he praised.
“Tiger, when he first went out, remember those days when Tiger went out? Or just a great baseball player in the minor leagues or a first-year football player. You see a running back who’s making like minimum, and he turns out to be a superstar. You have that, and probably there’s no real way to guard against it.”
Trump hopes WNBA should do something with their salary structure
After slamming Clark’s pay as “unfair,” Trump suggested that the WNBA’s payment structure is built around maintaining financial stability for the league. “Well, it’s really you got to rely on the market. You can’t go in and just say, ‘well, we’re going to break this contract because this person did well.’ The league could probably go up and give her a bonus. It wouldn’t kill the league if the league is doing okay.”
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“But the league could really do something with it because it seems unfair, but you have a lot of that. I see it all the time with football and baseball and even basketball, where somebody comes in, he turns out to be 10 times better.”