Will Injured Caitlin Clark Receive a Bonus After Indiana Fever’s Cup Championship?
Angelo Guinhawa
Will Injured Caitlin Clark Receive a Bonus After Indiana Fever’s Cup Championship? originally appeared on Athlon Sports.
Caitlin Clark missed the WNBA Commissioner’s Cup final due to a groin injury, marking the third straight game she has missed because of the health setback. Despite her absence, the Indiana Fever were still able to beat the Minnesota Lynx on Tuesday.
While the Fever were heavy underdogs with Clark sidelined, they fought well and used a balanced scoring effort to fill the void that their best player left. Five players scored in double figures for Indiana, led by Natasha Howard who had 16 points on top of 12 rebounds.
Aliyah Boston had 12 points and 11 boards, while also dishing out six assists to help lead the Fever to a 74-59 victory.
With the win, the Fever won the $500,000 prize pool, which the players will split between them. Previous winners saw players earn $30,000 each.
Coinbase also committed $120,000 in cryptocurrency to the prize pool, including $5,000 worth of crypto for every player in the championship game, per the WNBA.
That being said, despite not playing in the championship game, Clark should still be eligible to receive her share of the prize pool.
Clark played in two games during Commissioner Cup play. She helped the team beat the New York Liberty and Connecticut Sun, which allowed them to finish with a 4-1 record in the Eastern Conference and book a ticket to the final. In those two outings, the All-Star guard averaged 26.0 points, 4.5 rebounds, 7.5 assists, 1.5 steals and 1.0 blocks.
Sure enough, Clark is equally deserving of the major payday despite missing majority of the tournament.
Furthermore, more than $40,000 in cash prize is a huge sum, especially for WNBA players who don’t earn a lot. Clark is only making $78,000 this 2025 campaign.
Related: Caitlin Clark Gets Reality Check on WNBA Salary: ‘She’s Going To Be Massively Underpaid’
This story was originally reported by Athlon Sports on Jul 2, 2025, where it first appeared.
