Pay Caitlin Clark What She’s Worth
In 1969, the National Basketball Association was a relatively young professional basketball league fighting to establish itself. It was generating buzz. But the league was facing economic problems, and it was unclear how successful it would be monetizing the game’s appeal to young people.
At the time, Lew Alcindor, a three-time national champion at the University of California, Los Angeles, was entering the professional ranks as a rising star, having dominated the college game and captivated the public’s interest. Desperate for credibility (and fighting off a rival league also seeking to establish itself), the N.B.A. and the Milwaukee Bucks rose to the moment and offered Alcindor a multiyear $1.4 million contract. It was a staggering sum, especially for a market like Milwaukee. Before playing a single game, Alcindor, who would go on to change his name to Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, was among the highest paid players in the league.
Today, the Women’s National Basketball Association, established about 50 years after the N.B.A., finds itself at a similar crossroads. As it tips off its 28th season, the W.N.B.A. is as popular as it has ever been. The league’s attendance and television ratings have grown significantly, and its future is bright as it expands to new markets.
This year the W.N.B.A. is welcoming a generational talent to its stable of stars: Caitlin Clark, who was chosen by the Indiana Fever after selling out arenas around the country in her final collegiate season. Yet, for reasons that astound me, as both an N.B.A. historian and a professor who teaches labor relations, the W.N.B.A. has decided that Clark will be paid a salary of $76,535 in her first year. The rate reflects the maximum salary for a rookie under the league’s collective bargaining agreement. That decision is both a choice and a missed opportunity.
The league’s decision has earned it bad press and allegations of gender pay discrimination,tempering the excitement around Clark and her signature three-point shot, and the league’s ascendance more broadly. Bumping up her salary — even now, after the season has started — would unquestionably be in the league’s interest.
Handing out eye-catching salaries to star players has been a longtime tactic by rising sports leagues seeking to establish themselves and their players. And it usually works. The American League, the American Basketball Association, the American Football League, major-league Soccer and more recently LIV Golf have all planted their flags by paying — and in some cases overpaying — for top talent.
