The name Caitlin Clark has made headlines recently when the prominent basketball player was not included in the Women’s National Team roster for the upcoming 2024 Olympics. Even after her continuous winning performances, she failed to make the cut, taking a hit on her finances. This has left the netizens wondering about Caitlin Clark’s net worth.
Caitlin Clark is one of the biggest names in the women’s basketball world. Her PR team is working very intelligently to engrave her name into the hearts of the audiences. Let’s find out all about her!
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Caitlin Clark: How She Got Into Basketball
Caitlin Clark is one of the biggest names in basketball at the moment and she has got the bank balance to prove it. She was born on 22 January 2002 in Des Moines, Iowa. She is pretty tall and stands at a height of 6ft.
Clark began playing at the age of five and competed with boys. The reason being that, It was a small town and her coach could not find a suitable girls’ league for her to compete. Her skills are not just limited to basketball as she plays softball, volleyball, soccer, tennis, and golf as well.
When she was 13, she began playing with girls who were far older than her and competed with them at par. She joined the local basketball team called the All-Iowa Attack. This went on for a few years till she graduated high school. She brought tons of laurels to her team and town.
At the end of her high school career, she was considered a five-star recruit and the fourth-best player in her class by ESPN. She made headlines throughout her college career and she was an all-time leading scorer across all men’s and women’s basketball.
But does she compare to the top players in the NBA? Let’s find out!
Where Did Caitlin Clark Go to College?
Selecting a college is one of the biggest decisions that could make or break your life. That was just the case for Clark. There is no doubt that received a lot of offers after her spectacular performance throughout her school career.
So, after a lot of deliberations she chose to go to the University of Iowa. She scored a total of 3,951 points in 139 college games. This led her to become the D-1-all-time leading scorer. She averaged 31.6 points per game her senior year and 28.4 points overall. In the 2023 national championship game, which Iowa lost to LSU, it was because of Clark that a record 9.9 million viewers tuned in to watch.
An April game against LSU averaged 12.3 million viewers, making it the most-watched women’s college basketball game in history. The recognition is well-deserved.
How much does she make in one match?
According to reports, Caitlin signed a four-year contract with the Indiana Fever at $338,000. This means that it will pay $76,535 in 2024 which will keep on increasing till 2027. Apart from this additional incentives like WNBA Rookie of the Year and selection in the All-Star game also pay handsome rewards i.e. $5,150 and $2,575 respectively.
As you can see, it is needless to say that it is quite low than what all of the other star players are making, and that too after her rankings and record-breaking performances. But Caitlin’s salary will also include the pay of sponsorships and advertisements of the products that will be endorsed by her.
What is Caitlin Clark’s net worth in 2024?
There is no doubt that Clark is doing pretty well for herself and has paved the way to a very lucrative career. According to sources, her net worth is about $3.5 million. However, she is still in college which means that she does not have a salary. This is based on the number of games, reputation, and all of her sponsorship deals.
This estimate makes her the fourth-highest-paid college athlete after Bronny James, Shedeur Sanders, and Livvy Dunne. Add that to her four-year contract with the Indiana Fever and it comes out to about $3.7 to $3.8 million.
Deals with Brands
Caitlin currently has 11 NIL deals with major brands. This includes Buick, Gatorade, State Farm, and more.
According to sources, Clark will become a brand ambassador and will direct her first signature basketball line. It is set to launch later this year with a few other popular faces as well. When Caitlin announced her Nike deal in late 2022, she said she was “humbled” to join the latest generation of Nike athletes, which included Bronny and fellow women’s college basketball star JuJu Watkins.
In January, she used the Nike partnership to her advantage and gifted her entire team along with coaches Nike sneakers. Playing a sport does come with a lot of perks.
There are rumors of her signing a deal with Nike that includes signature shoes. These shoes are said to be of a limited-edition premium line that is going to be priced at around 8 figures. All of these partnerships make her thousands of dollars per month.
Not Making it to the USA Olympic Team
The United States Women’s Olympic Team is the hardest team to make in the world. Representing the country in the Olympics is huge and one needs to be at the top of their game to secure a spot.
Turns out, the reason she was not able to make it was that currently, she is not one of the 12 Best American players. Clark will be a fixture of Team USA in the years to come. But only five rookies in history have made the U.S. Olympic team, and there just wasn’t a spot for Clark at the moment.
It’s important to mention that putting together the Team USA roster is a process that takes years. Clark hasn’t participated in a USA Basketball event since being on the Under-19 team in 2021. Unlike all the others who have come before her, she hasn’t paid her dues.
At this time, there are too many other worthy players who deserve to be a part of the team. However, for Clark, that time just isn’t now.
Bottom Line
Caitlin Clark has had a very established career till now that will keep on growing with time. This all reflects her huge bank balance. However, it remains to be seen if Caitlin will be allowed to play in the Olympics but despite that, she has had a very successful career.
As she prepares to start on the next chapter of her basketball journey, all eyes are on her anticipated entry into the WNBA draft. Let’s wait and find out!
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