Pakinomist host Brian Kilmeade weighs in the treatment Caitlin Clark has received since she entered WNBA and how the league handled it on ‘The Big Weekend Show’.
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WNBA commissioner Cathy Engelbert’s previous comments about League and Indiana Fever Superstar Caitlin Clark’s earning potential during a CNBC interview reappeared on social media Friday.
The previous comments emerged after Engelbert allegedly refused to tell Minnesota Lynx star Napheesa Collier that Clark “should be grateful that she earns $ 16 million from the field because, without the platform, Wnba gives her, she would do nothing,” according to Collier.
While Engelbert refused to make the alleged statement during a news conference Friday, her previous comments repeated during an interview at the CNBC Changemakers summit in April 2024 similar themes.
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Caitlin Clark poses with WNBA commissioner Cathy Engelbert, after she is elected as No. 1 total election of Indiana Fever in 2024 WNBA Draft at the Brooklyn Academy of Music in Brooklyn, Ny, April 15, 2024. (Brad Penner/USA Today Sports)
“Caitlin has the ability to make up to half a million dollars right in WNBA wages this year. So of course they just look at a base that is collective negotiated. And in fact it is low because she is # 1 election, she will do a little more than that,” Engelbert said.
“She also has millions and millions of dollars [in] endorsements. Because she declared to become pro, as her endorsements are higher in the dollar value, she has a global platform now, not just an American platform, so she will do fine, like the best players in the league, as each league does. “
Engelbert’s previous comments came only a few days after Clark was elected with No. 1 selection in 2024 WNBA draft of the fever. Clark’s WNBA base salary that year was only $ 76,535.
Clark signed an eight-year-old, $ 28 million deal with Nike, which she also signed in April 2024 before ever even played a game in WNBA, and she had previously offered with Nike and other sponsors during her college career in Iowa.
The Commissioner was facing tremendous setbacks from fans, media research and even active players after Collier made the claims that Engelbert said Clark should be “grateful” and “would do nothing” without WNBA last week, as Collier said came in a private conversation.
Collier also claimed that Engelbert told her, “Players should be on their knees and thank their lucky stars for the Media Law Agreement as I got them.”
While approaching the alleged comments about Clark, Engelbert refused to do them.
“Obviously, I did not make these comments. Caitlin has been a transformation player in this league. She has been a great representative of the game. She has brought tens of thousands of millions new fans to the game,” Engelbert said at Friday’s news conference.
However, Engelbert did not explicitly deny the alleged comments about players that “should be on their knees.” Instead, the Commissioner replied by claiming that “inaccuracies” have been reported in the media.
“There’s a lot of inaccuracy out there through social media and all this reporting,” Engelbert said. “A lot of reporting, a lot of innacuracy about what I say what I didn’t say.”
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Minnesota Lynx star Napheesa Collier has been obvious about WNBA commissioner Cathy Engelbert’s recent comments. (Trevor Ruszkowski/Imag images)
Engelbert said later, “I’m discouraged. I’m also a human being. I have a family. I have two kids ruined by these comments. So all I say is that it’s obviously been a tough week and I just think there’s a lot of innovation out there.”
Still acknowledged Engelbert that if the players do not feel “appreciated”, then she has “to do better.”
“I was discouraged at hearing that some players feel the league and that I personally am not interested in them or listen to them,” Engelbert said before Game 1 in the WNBA final on Friday night.
“If the players in ‘W’ do not feel appreciated and value of the league, we need to do better and I have to do better.”
WNBA and its Player Association, WNBPA, are negotiating a new collective negotiation agreement.
Players’ Association and WNBA accepted an eight-year deal in 2020, but last year WNBPA voted to opt out of the agreement early. The current agreement is set to expire October 31.
