In the past year, women’s basketball in the US has been breaking new grounds. Just last week, the NCAA Women’s College Basketball Championships had almost 19 million viewers — topping the men’s finals for the first time in history.
Commentors are crediting Iowa Hawkeyes superstar, Caitlin Clark for the boost in viewership. Last month, Clark became the all-time leading point scorer in college basketball history, breaking Pete Maravich’s record of 3667 points with 3900 points.
She has been described as “the most famous basketball player in the world right now,” and she has garnered an enormous fan base since she started playing for Hawkeyes in 2020.
This week, when she was drafted No.1 overall by the Indiana Fever for the WNBA Draft, 2.45 million viewers watched the live coverage on ESPN. According to Nielsen, the record number of audience is the first time the WNBA draft has exceeded a million viewers. A sold-out public viewing of the draft in Brooklyn was described as “frantic” and “buzziest ever”, with “an air of mild desperation.”
When she announced in late February she would turn pro, almost 17,000 tickets were snapped up to watch the draft at Gainbridge Fieldhouse, Indianapolis, home to the Indiana Fever.
“I think obviously the course of the last few weeks has been pretty insane in my life, the last two months playing basketball as long as I possibly could in my college career,” Clark said on Monday night.
“I think the biggest thing is I’m just very lucky to be in this moment, and all these opportunities and these things, they’re once in a lifetime.”
The previous record was set two decades ago by Diana Taurasi, who was at the time the No. 1 pick. She was nabbed by Phoenix Mercury — the team which will include South Australian native Jay Shelley from next year.
Despite Clark’s extraordinary star-power as an Iowa Hawkeyes guard, contributing to over US$50 million to Iowa’s economy last year, and creating a mania around her, her comparably low salary has been criticised.
Even as the WNBA’s top pick, the 22-year old will receive AUD$119,000 in her first season as a pro player, as per the league’s collective bargaining agreement. Over the next four years, she will be paid A$527,000. Beyond that, she is expected to sign sponsorship deals that will boost her pay into the millions.
In comparison, the first pick in last year’s NBA draft, Victor Wembanyama, made more than US$12 million across the 2023-24 season (his first as pro), according to sports statistics tracker Spotrac. He also secured a US$55 million four-year contract.
Galling? We agree.
On NBC this week, two hosts on NBC expressed their outrage at the gender pay gap.
“She had the highest ratings, already sold out games… her teams and the Final Four had the highest ratings — higher than the World Series, higher than the NBA,” Hoda Kotb, said.
“So I was like, what is she going to get paid? Because finally, you can get a real paycheck. Then I saw it and was like, this can’t be right.”
Co-host Jenna Bush Hager added: “Honestly the gap is so jarring. … We’re talking about equal pay. That ain’t even close.”
Even the US president has spoken out about her dismal pay compared to her male counterparts.
“Women in sports continue to push new boundaries and inspire us all,” President Biden wrote on X.
“But right now we’re seeing that even if you’re the best, women are not paid their fair share. It’s time that we give our daughters the same opportunities as our sons and ensure women are paid what they deserve.”
But Clark herself hasn’t spoken out about the pay. Returning to her new home arena on Wednesday, she said she was “super happy” to be welcomed back to Gainbridge Coliseum, and that playing for the Fever is “a dream come true.”
“At times it doesn’t feel real. I feel like I’m kind of stuck in a dream at times,” said Clark. “I think the biggest thing I try to remember is how grateful I am to have this opportunity. There’s so many people that would kill to be in my shoes. … I just try to remind myself of how grateful I am. I’m lucky to have these moments.”
When was the last time a male basketball player used the words “grateful” or “lucky” to describe being drafted?