Joe Biden, Hoda Kotb and others were outraged that Caitlin Clark won’t be earning more money in the WNBA — but it’s naive to pretend there’s more money right now.
An incredible thing happened this week.
A whopping 2.45 million people watched the WNBA draft Monday, as University of Iowa shooting sensation Caitlin Clark — dressed in head-to-toe Prada, the only time the label has ever dressed an athlete for a basketball draft — was selected first overall by the Indiana Fever.
Last year, an audience of 500,000 tuned in — that’s an 80% increase in viewers.
And they all seemed shocked to learn the truth about WNBA salaries, especially rookie ones.
Despite her captivating play, astounding range and marketing prowess, Clark will only earn $338,056 over four years: $76,535 annually.
Victor Wembanyama, the No. 1 pick in the 2023 NBA draft, will make $55 million for the same number of years.
Outraged over the pay disparity bubbled up everywhere: on social media, morning television and even at the White House.
“For somebody who is now the face of women’s basketball, it seemed kind of ridiculous,” Hoda Kotb said on the “Today” show, adding that it was “disturbing” and “like picking at an old scab for many women.”
Kotb’s co-host, Jenna Bush Hager, called the gap “so jarring … We’re talking about equal pay. That ain’t even close.”
Joe Biden put aside his vanilla ice-cream cone long enough to weigh in on X with pandering platitudes — the likes of which we haven’t seen since Kamala Harris foolishly claimed that women ballers didn’t get NCAA tournament brackets until 2022.
