Donald Trump’s bold claim about Caitlin Clark’s WNBA pay: Couldn’t she shoot that way in the NBA?
The Indiana Fever star was sensational in her WNBA rookie campaign
Donald Trump believes Caitlin Clark should be paid more than she currently is while playing in the WNBA, but admits changing that isn’t quite so simple.
The Republican presidential candidate made a surprise appearance on the ‘Let’s Go!’ podcast hosted by Jim Gray and Bill Belichick just one day before Election Day in the United States.
While the trio covered a variety of topics, one of the most interesting was the discussion about Clark. The Indiana Fever star’s pay in the WNBA was discussed, with Trump asked if she should receive similar compensation to NBA players.
Clark signed a four-year deal worth $338,056 with the Fever, while the highest paid WNBA player, Jackie Young of the Las Vegas Aces, earned $252,450. Meanwhile the NBA has a league minimum of $1.157 million per year.
“Well, you’d like to do that, but it’s a very complicated thing. It’s very unusual,” said Trump.
“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.
“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.
“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.”
Can anything be done about it?
When pressed by Gray on whether the sports market will eventually adjust for women, Trump stated the WNBA can make rash decisions based on one player.
“Well, it’s really you got to rely on the market,” Trump said. “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.
“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.”
Although Gray pointed out that women’s sports are paid much less as a whole, Trump pointed out that trying to alter markets usually doesn’t lead to great results.
“Well, maybe they’ll have to change that, but it is based on the one player, it seems to be,” Trump replied.
“It’s incredible. 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.”
