Donald Trump makes feelings on Caitlin Clark clear with ‘unfair’ contract claim

Donald Trump has made his thoughts clear on Caitlin Clark’s rookie WNBA contract, especially compared to the NBA’s rookies.

Much has been made about Clark’s salary this season, with the Indiana Fever star guard earning $76,535 in her first year in the league. As a whole, Clark’s four-year, rookie contract will pay her $338,056, for an average of $84,514 per year, which pales in comparison to what rookies in the NBA make in their first season.

This season, the No. 1 overall pick, Zaccharie Risacher, is slated to earn $10.4 million in the first year of his four-year contract. As a whole, rookies drafted in the first round are slated to make roughly $4.22 million this season on average, which is about 55 times the amount Clark made in her first year in the WNBA.

The pay discrepancy was not lost on the former president. During a surprise appearance on the ‘Let’s Go!’ podcast, hosted by Jim Gray and Bill Belichick, the 78-year-old discussed how Clark should be properly compensated for her contributions to the league’s popularity growth as he made it clear he’s a big fan of the WNBA phenom.

“Well, you’d like to do that, but it’s a very complicated thing, it’s very unusual,” Trump said regarding a potential pay raise for Clark. “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.”

The Republican presidential nominee also compared Clark’s ascension to another sporting legend: Tiger Woods. Despite how talented Woods and Clark are, Trump admits that star players often will get lower-paying contracts when they start out before receiving a more lucrative deal.

“Tiger, when he first went out, remember those days when Tiger went out?” Trump recalled. “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.

“It sounds unfair, but somebody agrees to a contract. Hopefully, she’ll keep it going, and probably will. She’s going to make a lot of money.” Trump also declared that any pay increase Clark sees is dependent on the “market” and that it wouldn’t “kill the league” to give the 22-year-old a bonus.

“It’s incredible,” Trump continued. “It’s a phenomenal thing she’s got going, but very tricky. When you start getting involved with trying to recreate markets, it gets very, very tricky. The downside is greater than the upside, Jim.”

While Clark’s WNBA contract has been a topic of discussion, the 22-year-old has other revenue streams, including endorsement deals with Nike, Gatorade, and State Farm, among others. Clark also has a massive offer from “Unrivaled,” with the startup basketball league offering her $1 million to join.

It was reported that the new 3×3 women’s basketball league has offered her $1 million in addition to “significant equity” in the business, per the Sports Business Journal. The league also has signed on Lexie Hull and Aliyah Boston – Clark’s Fever teammates – and Kate Martin, her teammate at Iowa.

After originally declining the league’s first offer, Clark reportedly is more inclined to join the league, with the Sports Business Journal stating the star is “60/40” in favor of becoming one of the 36 players. It remains to be seen if Clark will join “Unrivaled,” but it appears as if the star is not worried about her income.