Jason Whitlock dismisses Russell Wilson’s claim that Caitlin Clark ‘deserves so much more’ than her $76,535 WNBA rookie salary because the basketball star doesn’t ‘cure cancer, raise kids or build rocket ships’

Given the WNBA’s rookie salary scale, Indiana Fever rookie Caitlin Clark will earn just $76,535 in base salary during the 2024 season — a number that has come as a shock to many, including Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Russell Wilson.

Wilson, part owner of MLS’ Seattle Sounders, reacted to the news on social media, writing: ‘These ladies deserve so much more…’

A debate ensued, but not one involving Wilson.

Instead, it was conservative sports media personality and critic Jason Whitlock who offered a counterargument.

“Russ, no snark, but explain to me why they deserve so much more,” Whitlock wrote. ‘Do they cure cancer, do they raise children, do they build rocket ships?’

Caitlin Clark smiles during the 2024 WNBA Draft on April 14, 2025

Unlike Wilson (right), Whitlock (left) doesn’t think WNBA players deserve to make more money

Whitlock continued down this path, arguing that the WNBA is not profitable enough to justify higher salaries for its players, even though Clark’s four-year, $338,056 deal is eclipsed by San Antonio Spurs rookie Victor Wembanyama’s $12 million rookie season salary.

“Hundreds of thousands of young people leave college every year and start careers for less than 70,000 a year,” continued Whitlock, a sports expert reportedly worth millions. ‘Is a basketball player in a league that loses money every year worth more than an electrical engineer?

‘Walk me through it. Thanks and good luck in Pittsburgh.’

Of course, Clark has already made millions in endorsement deals with brands like State Farm, but the controversial podcaster only addressed her current WNBA salary — something she wasn’t able to properly negotiate under the current collective bargaining agreement.

Clark is slated to make just $76,535 from the WNBA as a rookie, but she also has NIL deals

Whitlock didn’t get an answer from Wilson, but there are encouraging signs on the WNBA’s bottom line.

The league jumped from a reported $60 million in revenue in 2022 to a reported $200 million in 2023. And with a new media rights deal on the horizon, those numbers could continue to rise, given the popularity of Caitlin Clark and the rest of the 2024 WNBA Draft class.

Interest in this year’s WNBA Draft was so great that the league opened it up to fans for the first time since 2016 thanks to Clark, the NCAA’s all-time scoring leader.

And back in Indianapolis, the Fever reported more than 17,000 in attendance for their WNBA Draft watch party.

(From right to left) Angel Reese, Caitlin Clark and Cameron Brink at the WNBA Draft

Clark won’t make her WNBA regular-season debut until May 14, but ticket prices on the secondary market have already climbed above $500. Meanwhile, the defending champion Las Vegas Aces have made plans to open up 7,000 more seats when the Fever comes to town on May 25.

And Clark brings women’s basketball to entirely new audiences.

Before becoming the obvious first overall pick of the Indiana Fever, Clark spent the last month guiding Iowa to its second consecutive NCAA championship game while garnering the largest television audience in tournament history. In the past few days, she’s been on Saturday Night Live and NBC’s Today Show, not to mention countless publications, websites, and sports fans across the country’s lips and ears.

Sponsors have already taken notice, with Opill, SKIMS, Peloton, La Crema and Tissot announcing partnerships with the WNBA in recent weeks.

The league already plans to add a new team in 2025, but with Clark’s arrival, more expansion talk is on the way, not to mention a new media deal that could overshadow the current contract.

“This is an important year for us around viewership, around attendance, around all the qualitative and quantitative factors that go into valuing media rights,” Commissioner Cathy Engelbert said Monday.

“The one thing I know about sports is that you need household names, rivalries and games that matter,” she continued, referring to the women’s NCAA tournament. “Those are the three things we’ve had over the last few weeks.”