Good day: Ice Cube, Big3 offer Caitlin Clark $5M

Iowa women’s basketball star Caitlin Clark has been offered $5 million to play in the Big3 league, co-founder Ice Cube confirmed on social media on Wednesday.

“We intended the offer to remain private while Caitlin Clark plays for the championship,” Ice Cube wrote on X. “But I won’t deny what’s now already out there: BIG3 made a historic offer to Caitlin Clark. Why wouldn’t we? Caitlin is a generational athlete who can achieve tremendous success in the BIG3.

“The skeptics laughed when we made Nancy Lieberman the first female coach of a men’s pro team, and she won the championship in her first year. Then Lisa Leslie won it all in year two. With our offer, Caitlin Clark can make history and break down even more barriers for women athletes.”

Clark, who will be playing in the NCAA tournament Sweet 16 this weekend in Albany, New York, was not available for comment Wednesday morning. ESPN reached out to her agency, Excel, for comment.

ESPN also reached out to the WNBA and the league’s players’ union on whether Clark playing in another league would be allowed under the collective bargaining agreement. The league has prioritization rules in its CBA, which can affect players who participate in overseas leagues. But it remains to be seen whether those would prevent Clark’s Big3 participation.

The WNBA had no comment on Clark and the Big3 league, but a spokesperson said: “Caitlin Clark stands to make a half million dollars or more in WNBA earnings this coming season, in addition to what she will receive through endorsements and other partnerships, which has been reported to already exceed $3 million.”

The WNBA’s figure includes the money Clark could make in a marketing agreement with the league, but it is not guaranteed. Clark is expected to be the WNBA’s No. 1 draft pick on April 15 by the Indiana Fever. WNBA rookie salaries for lottery draft picks (Nos. 1 through 4) in 2024 are $76,535 and climb to $97,582 by their fourth season.

A spokesperson for the union said officials were unaware of the Big3 offer and couldn’t comment.

Appearing on “The Pat McAfee Show” on Wednesday, Ice Cube said he thinks “it’s definitely doable” in his mind for Clark to play in the Big3 and WNBA. He said it would take a 10-week commitment (on Saturdays) on Clark’s part, accounting for the league’s playoffs.

“It’s up to the player. We’ve always wanted to work with the WNBA,” he said. “We’ve wanted to work with the NBA but unfortunately that hasn’t been able to happen but maybe this will open the door for that.”

Ice Cube said he believes Lieberman would be the perfect coach and mentor for Clark if she accepts the Big3’s offer. He said he believes Clark’s presence would put the Big3 into “a different stratosphere.”

He said Clark is “a special player that’s moving the needles in a lot of different areas — ratings, attendance, ticket sales. So of course, our sponsors are very interested in a player like this.”

Clark already has a considerable endorsement portfolio with companies such as Nike, State Farm, Gatorade and Gainbridge, which has naming rights for the arena in Indianapolis, where the WNBA’s Fever and the NBA’s Pacers play.