WNBA commissioner's past comments on Caitlin Clark earnings resurface after denying recently alleged remarks

The previous comments came to light after Engelbert denied allegedly telling Minnesota Lynx star Napheesa Collier that Clark “should be grateful she makes $16 million off the court because without the platform that the WNBA gives her, she wouldn’t make anything,” according to Collier.

While Engelbert denied making that alleged statement during a news conference Friday, her previous comments during an interview at the CNBC Changemakers Summit in April 2024 echoed similar themes.

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Caitlin Clark poses with WNBA Commissioner Cathy Engelbert after she is selected as the No. 1 overall pick by the Indiana Fever in the 2024 WNBA Draft at Brooklyn Academy of Music in Brooklyn, N.Y., on April 15, 2024. (Brad Penner/USA TODAY Sports)

“Caitlin has the ability to make up to a half-million dollars just in WNBA wages this year. So of course, they’re just looking at a base which is collectively bargained. And actually it’s low because she’s the No. 1 pick, she’ll make a little more than that,” Engelbert said.

“She also has millions and millions of dollars [in] endorsements. Because she declared to become pro her endorsements are higher in dollar value, she has a global platform now, not just a US platform, so she’s going to do just fine as will the top players in the league as every league does.”

Engelbert’s previous comments came just days after Clark was selected with the No. 1 pick in the 2024 WNBA Draft by the Fever. Clark’s WNBA base salary that year was just $76,535. 

Clark did sign an eight-year, $28 million deal with Nike that she signed in April 2024 as well, before she ever even played a game in the WNBA, and she had previous deals with Nike and other sponsors during her college career at Iowa.

The commissioner faced immense backlash from fans, media pundits and even active players after Collier made the allegations that Engelbert said Clark should be “grateful” and “wouldn’t make anything” without the WNBA last week, which Collier said came in a private conversation.

Collier also alleged Engelbert told her, “Players should be on their knees, thanking their lucky stars for the media rights deal that I got them.”

While addressing the alleged comments about Clark, Engelbert denied making them.

“Obviously, I did not make those comments. Caitlin has been a transformational player in this league. She’s been a great representative of the game. She’s brought in tens of millions of new fans to the game,” Engelbert said at Friday’s news conference.

However, Engelbert did not explicitly deny making the alleged comments about players that “should be on their knees.” Instead, the commissioner responded by claiming there have been a lot of “inaccuracies” reported in the media.

“There’s a lot of inaccuracy out there through social media and all this reporting,” Engelbert said. “A lot of reporting, a lot of innacuracy about what I say, what I didn’t say.”

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Minnesota Lynx star Napheesa Collier has been outspoken about WNBA Commissioner Cathy Engelbert’s recent comments. (Trevor Ruszkowski/Imagn Images)

Engelbert later said, “I’m disheartened. I’m a human too. I have a family. I have two kids who are devastated by these comments. So, all I say is that it’s obviously been a tough week, and I just think there’s a lot of innacuracy out there.”

Still, Engelbert acknowledged that if players don’t feel “appreciated,” then she has “to do better.”

“I was disheartened to hear that some players feel the league and that I personally do not care about them or listen to them,” Engelbert said before Game 1 of the WNBA Finals Friday night.

“If the players in the ‘W’ don’t feel appreciated and value from the league, we have to do better, and I have to do better.”

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The WNBA and its players’ union, the WNBPA, are in negotiations for a new collective bargaining agreement.

The players’ association and the WNBA agreed to an eight-year agreement in 2020, but last year the WNBPA voted to opt out of the agreement early. The current agreement is set to expire Oct. 31.