- Clark has already outlined her plan to enter the WNBA Draft for the 2024 season
- But she was able to save seven figures without sacrificing her professional ambitions
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College basketball sensation Caitlin Clark has been paid a whopping $5 million to become the first woman to play in Ice Cube’s Big 3 League.
The 22-year-old Clark, who continues to set record after record at the college level, is already set to join the WNBA after completing her senior year at Iowa.
Yet according to TMZ Sportsthe all-time leading NCAA scorer also has a chance to collect seven figures up front — and this won’t impact her proposed move to the upper echelons of women’s basketball.
Big3, a three-on-three league founded by both hip-hop legend Ice Cube – real name O’Shea Jackson – and entertainment chief Jeff Kwatinetz – has offered Clark a deal worth $5 million to play up to ten matches. -and-coming division.
That would include at least eight regular-season games and possibly two playoff games, which would earn her at least $500,000 per appearance.
Caitlin Clark has been paid a whopping $5 million to play in Ice Cube’s Big 3 League
The 22-year-old Clark continues to set record after record at the college level in her senior year for Iowa
Before her proposed move to the WNBA, she was able to earn seven figures by signing up for Big3, a three-on-three league that starts this summer.
The Iowa superstar would also receive “substantial additional compensation” from any sponsorship or merchandise deals, while the Big3 Chiefs would also allow her to play in the WNBA.
Clark, who is currently plying her trade at March Madness, has already outlined her plan to enter the 2024 WNBA Draft, with the Indiana Fever using their No. 1 pick to bring her to Indianapolis.
Just two regular season games in the WNBA would conflict with the Big3 schedule, giving her the chance to pocket $5 million without sacrificing her professional ambitions.
Following TMZ’s report, Ice Cube confirmed on X that Big3 has indeed launched a “historic” offer to Clark.
“It was our intention that the offer would remain private while Caitlin Clark plays for the championship. But I will not deny what is already there,” he wrote.
‘BIG3 has made a historic offer to Caitlin Clark. Why wouldn’t we? Caitlin is a generational athlete who can achieve tremendous success in the BIG3.”
By comparison, the WNBA’s highest earner last season was Erica Wheeler, who raised $242,000. Although she is expected to take home a little more herself next season, Clark can earn almost twenty times as much by signing up for Big3.
Ice Cube took to social media to confirm reports of Big3’s “historic” bid for Clark
The Iowa superstar is currently competing in March Madness and will help her team reach the Sweet 16 stage on Monday
The point guard would be the first female player to play in the league, but after growing up practicing and playing against men, that wouldn’t be a problem for her.
One potential stumbling block, however, are reports of strained relations between Big3 and the NBA, which operates the WNBA.
The U.S. Department of Justice launched an investigation last year into claims that the NBA is trying to crush Big3’s success, meaning the league could take steps to block any potential deal for Clark given her plans to participate in the 2024 Draft.
Clark, the all-time leading NCAA point scorer, made more history last week after her status as perhaps the greatest women’s college player of all time meant Iowa’s tie against Holy Cross was the most-watched first-round match ever.
In Monday’s win over West Virginia, she also set the record for most points in a single season with 1,113.