Caitlin Clark sets assists record and complains about WNBA salaries

Getting snubbed by the U.S. Olympic women’s basketball team turned out to be just what Caitlin Clark needed — a month off to refresh her game, refuel her temper and remind everyone she says stuff that grabs attention.

Sure, the Olympic team won a record eighth consecutive gold medal without her, but it didn’t take long for Clark to regain the spotlight. On Sunday, the Indiana Fever point guard set a WNBA record, thanked a referee for assessing her with a technical foul and cried poor-mouth over her salary even though she makes millions in endorsements.

Best known as a scoring machine with almost limitless three-point range, Clark set a WNBA mark for assists in a season by a rookie, notching nine to increase her total to 232. The 22-year-old is on pace to break the overall record of 316 set by Alyssa Thomas a year ago.

She also was assessed her fifth technical of the season after punching the base of the basket when she missed a shot in the third quarter. Two more technicals and she’ll be suspended for a game.

The referee “told me it was disrespectful to the game of basketball,” Clark said. “Had nothing to do with my team, had nothing to do with the reffing, had nothing to do with the other team. It’s just because I’m a competitor, and I felt like I should have been making more shots.

“But I think he fired me up to continue to play a lot harder. I thought we got a lot better after that. I want to thank him for that.”

Now, if only Clark could scrounge up enough cash to buy season tickets for loved ones.

Fever teammate Lexie Hull was asked if she would buy her family season tickets after she scored a career-high 22 points in the win over the Seattle Storm with her twin sister and grandma sitting courtside. Clark jumped in and answered, saying, “Those are pretty expensive. It’s like our entire salary to get those. I’m not kidding. We need people to help.”

It’s true that Clark’s base wage of $76,535 as a WNBA rookie and four-year contract worth $338,056 are paltry compared to her male counterparts; in the NBA. Salaries are limited by the WNBA’s collective bargaining agreement, which was negotiated in 2020 and doesn’t expire until 2027.

Blame supply-and-demand economics, which at least are trending in the players’ favor in large part because of Clark’s popularity. But don’t expect a GoFundMe page any time soon. Ponying up for a $1,600 Fever season ticket for every Clark from Indy to Iowa wouldn’t dent her portfolio.

She was paid an estimated $3 million in name, image and likeness money while at Iowa, and before playing a WNBA game signed eight-figure deals with Nike (for signature shoes) and Wilson (for signature basketballs). She also has partnerships with Gatorade, Panini, Xfinity, Gainbridge and State Farm.

Back-of-the-backboard calculations of her estimated career earnings exceed $400 million.

Why? Keep in mind that her final college game drew 24 million TV viewers — more than three times larger than the audience for Serena Williams’ final tennis match. More than 3 million ESPN viewers watched her simply get drafted.

So for Clark to bemoan WNBA salaries is best interpreted as her going to bat for teammates and league-mates such as Hull, a Stanford product who will be paid $77,669 this season. Endorsements for most WNBA players are few.

Clark, in fact, was exuberant in her praise of Hull’s performance, joking that her entire social media account “will be about Lexie. I’m going to change my bio to Lexie Hull Fan Page.”

More likely is that Clark will continue to set records, rake in dollars and generate headlines. Remarkable what a month off can do to refresh a person.