PHILADELPHIA (CBS) – Head of the University of South Carolina women’s basketball coach Dawn Staley urged patience Caitlin Clark’s WNBA contract went viral on social media based on the design.
Fresh from her third NCAA women’s basketball championshipStaley, a North Philly native, joined CBS News Philadelphia on Thursday for an exclusive interview, where she discussed her recent title run and much more.
Clark, who lost to Staley and Gamecocks in the title game, was picked by the Indiana Fever in the WNBA draft earlier this week and social media erupted when her contract numbers were revealed.
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Clark will make $76,000 in her first year of the four-year, $338,000 contract, which is peanuts compared to what the No. 1 pick in the NBA draft makes despite a reported eight-figure endorsement deal from Nike. For example, Victor Wembanyama, who was selected No. 1 overall in the last NBA draft, signed a four-year deal worth $55 million.
While the difference in money is significant, Staley said it’s “the most natural thing in the world.”
“My response is that she deserved a lot more than just a national champion, A’ja Wilson, when she came out,” Staley said. “I think it’s par for the course. Caitlin Clark is going to make a lot more money outside of her salary than 99% of America. I think our league is a very young league. The WNBA is a very, very league. If we'” If we’re going to see something like the NBA, when the NBA was 28 years old, the salaries were probably comparable to the WNBA, so we need time.”
Wilson, who was coached by Staley when she won her first national title at South Carolina in 2017, was also selected as the No. 1 overall pick in the WNBA draft in 2018, like Clark.
After the Las Vegas Aces selected Wilson, she earned a four-year contract worth $232,178 per Spotrac. Following that contract, Wilson signed a two-year, $398,422 contract with the Aces.
“This has been a problem with every class coming out of college so far. I don’t think we should make it a bigger deal because we have a high-profile issue with Caitlin Clark. We have been fighting this battle for a very long time,” Staley said.
Staley played nine seasons in the WNBA for the Charlotte Sting and Houston Comets, retiring in 2006.
The former Dobbins Tech guard has seen the women’s basketball game grow during her playing and coaching career, and she said that will continue to happen, especially with stars like Clark, Angel Reese And Kamilla Cardoso first.
“So now it’s their turn to take our league to the next level,” Staley said, “so I really think the CBA will start next year and then we can talk about raising those salaries, but we also have to arrange the sponsorship, pay them.”
