Caitlin Clark, Indiana Fever’s superstar rookie, brought in $11.1 million in 2024 through her salary, bonuses, and major endorsements, securing her spot as the 10th highest-earning female athlete worldwide. Sportico unveiled its annual rankings on Wednesday, showing that the 15 highest-earning female athletes are projected to collectively make $221 million in 2024—a 27% increase from […]
Caitlin Clark, Indiana Fever’s superstar rookie, brought in $11.1 million in 2024 through her salary, bonuses, and major endorsements, securing her spot as the 10th highest-earning female athlete worldwide.
Sportico unveiled its annual rankings on Wednesday, showing that the 15 highest-earning female athletes are projected to collectively make $221 million in 2024—a 27% increase from the previous year. Notably, 11 athletes surpassed the $10 million mark, up from just six in 2023.
Kurt Badenhausen of Sportico noted that Caitlin Clark earned a record-setting $11.1 million in 2024 as a WNBA player, with 99% of that total coming from off-court ventures.
Caitlin Clark as the 10th highest earning female athlete
Clark’s earnings included an estimated $11 million from endorsements, supplemented by her base salary of $76,535. She also received bonuses for her achievements, including $10,300 for making the All-WNBA First Team, $5,150 as Rookie of the Year, $2,575 for her All-Star selection, $1,500 for the All-Rookie Team, and $1,136 for reaching the playoffs’ first round.
The Fever rookie closed the $10 million gap by securing over 10 endorsement deals.
Nike stands as Clark’s most profitable endorsement, with an eight-year deal she signed in April valued at over $3 million annually, according to Sportico. Other companies collaborating with Clark include Gatorade, State Farm, Panini, Wilson, Hy-Vee, Xfinity, Gainbridge, and Lilly.
At 22, Caitlin Clark stands out as one of the most promising young athletes across all sports, playing a key role in the surging popularity of women’s basketball. She electrified the college basketball scene at Iowa, where she helped the Hawkeyes break attendance records, and that trend of packed arenas has continued with her transition to the Indiana Fever.
Clark is just beginning to tap into her potential on the court, and her earning power appears just as boundless. While she has yet to claim the title of the WNBA’s leading figure—given the wealth of talent in the league—she is undoubtedly on a path that could make her its centerpiece in the near future.
Huge wage gap between male and female athletes
The Fever superstar relatively low base salary has underscored the significant wage gap between the NBA and WNBA. For comparison, Zaccharie Risacher, the top selection in the 2024 NBA Draft and a less prominent name than Clark, signed a four-year, $57 million deal, securing $12.6 million in the 2024-25 season alone.
Even when including her endorsement deals and NIL income from college, Clark’s total earnings in 2024 didn’t match Risacher’s yearly salary.
Tennis star Coco Gauff led the rankings with $30.4 million in combined prize money and endorsement deals, trailed by skier Eileen Gu with $22.1 million and tennis player Iga Świątek with $21.4 million.
In total, nine of the top 15 highest earners in women’s sports were tennis players, with three golfers—Nelly Korda, Jeeno Thitikul, and Lydia Ko—and one gymnast, Simone Biles, rounding out the list.
WNBA All-Star Sabrina Ionescu narrowly missed making the top 15.
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