Caitlin Clark is in line to make more history – the NCAA phenom could become the first woman in basketball to earn $5 million, if she accepts a big deal from Ice CubeThe Big3 league… TMZ Sports has learned.
Sources with direct knowledge of the deal tell us that the future Cube basketball league has already put an unprecedented offer on the table for Caitlin – $5 million to play 8 regular season games and possibly 2 playoff games! That’s it… 10 games for $5 million, guaranteed.
We’re told she would also receive “substantial additional compensation” from merchandising and sponsorships — but here’s the biggest catch in the deal… Big3 would allow her to also play in the WNBA.
Caitlin, who is Iowa Hawkeyes, is preparing for her Sweet 16 game this weekend in the Women’s NCAA Tournament, has already declared for next month’s WNBA draft… and the Indiana Fever has made it clear they are picking Caitlin with your #1 choice.
There are only 2 regular season Fever games that could conflict with the BIG3 schedule – so we’re told the Cube league sees this as a win-win-win situation for both leagues and obviously Caitlin.
CC is the biggest name in college basketball this season, as she became the all-time scoring leader in NCAA history… and that’s for women and men, as she surpassed “Pistol” Pete MaravichThe 54-year record of 3,667 points. So, there’s no mystery why the BIG3 would do anything to get her.
See how astronomical this offer is for Caitlin – the highest-paid player in the WNBA last year was Erica Wheeler, who earned $242,000. Caitlin’s WNBA deal is expected to be a little bigger than that, but nothing in the 7-figure universe she could earn with the BIG3.
She would be the first BIG3 player but she grew up playing and practicing against male players …so, this is nothing new to her.
The only potential problem is that the BIG3 and the NBA – which operates the WNBA – have feuds. TMZ Sports broke the story… the U.S. Department of Justice launched an antitrust investigation last year on allegations that the NBA is taking steps to destroy the success of the BIG3.
It’s unclear whether the WNBA could or would prevent Caitlin or any other player from playing in the BIG3 — but doing so could be a risky move considering the DOJ investigation. As it stands, many WNBA players play in other leagues abroad during the offseason to make more money.
We’ve reached out to Caitlin’s camp to gauge their interest in the potentially historic deal… we’ll let you know as soon as we hear back.
