Caitlin Clark Calls Out WNBA’s Bonus Pay After Cup Win

The Indiana Fever won the WNBA’s Commissioner’s Cup Tuesday night, defeating the Minnesota Lynx without injured star Caitlin Clark.

The trophy comes with a majority portion of a $500,000 purse, and each rostered player on the winning side earning up to $30,000. That’s more than WNBA champions receive ($20,825 per athlete), as Clark pointed out on a postgame, mid-celebration Instagram livestream.

More from Sportico.com

“You get more [money] for this than you do if you’re the [WNBA Finals] champion,” Clark said, straight to camera. “It makes no sense. Someone tell [WNBA commissioner] Cathy [Engelbert] to help us out.”

Clark also jokingly referred to Tuesday’s in-season tournament final as the “Cathy Cup.”

WNBA players are negotiating with the league for a new collective bargaining agreement. The annual finals haul was initially set in the CBA that runs from 2020 through the end of this season. The WNBA roughly doubled what championship winners earn starting in 2022 while increasing the overall playoff bonus pool to $500,000.

The Commissioner’s Cup also emerged from the 2020 agreement, which included a minimum of $750,000 in prize money for “special competitions” beginning in 2021, when the cup made its debut. The CBA included $1.6 million in annual marketing offerings for players, competitive payouts and performance bonuses.

The Commissioner’s Cup financial incentive helps to encourage players to compete in the tournament. Tuesday’s final doesn’t count in the standings.

“I think the money has been more top of the mind for [the players] than anything else,” Fever coach Stephanie White said before the game. Fever players told the Indianapolis Star they’d be donating portions of their bonuses while saving some as well.

Sponsor Coinbase adds an additional $120,000 in cryptocurrency to the Cup haul, with $5,000 going to each player on both teams. As Cup final MVP, the Fever’s Natasha Howard scored $5,000 more.

Multiple W stars, headlined by Clark, make significantly more money in off-the-court endorsements than their baseline league salary.

The NBA has one of the largest playoff prize pools in U.S. team sports, especially on a per-player basis. The Oklahoma City Thunder, thanks in part to their league-best record, earned roughly $828,000 in per-player bonuses. That’s on top of the $200,000 OKC players each received as finalists in the 2024 NBA Cup. The Milwaukee Bucks took home roughly $500,000 each along with that crown.

While the current WNBA CBA awards $2,575 to the winner of the All-Star 3-point shootout and skills challenge, Aflac has committed to handing out another $115,000 to bring those payouts in line with the NBA amounts.

Best of Sportico.com

showbizshadows

Caitlin Clark Calls Out WNBA’s Bonus Pay After Cup Win

Leave a Reply Cancel reply