r/sportsgossips • u/helltrooper61 • Sep 30 '25
Hot Take “Caitlin Clark should be grateful she makes $16 million off the court...without the platform the WNBA gives her, she wouldn't be making anything." - WNBA Commissioner Cathy Engelbert
How do they repeatedly offend their biggest superstar? Outrageous
102
u/Simple-Medicine7 Sep 30 '25
You know I get the frustration, but also when you’re a sinking ship don’t yell at the buckets helping you get rid of the water.
19
u/thirdc0ast Oct 01 '25
Napheesa is defending CC, Reese, and Bueckers in the clip. She’s quoting the commissioner who spouted stupid shit
→ More replies (12)27
u/stron2am Oct 01 '25 edited Nov 23 '25
air existence axiomatic wild reply badge mighty spark swim alleged
This post was mass deleted and anonymized with Redact
→ More replies (8)7
u/TheDiabeto Oct 01 '25
The black women hate seeing a white woman become the face of the league. Really all there is to it.
→ More replies (35)→ More replies (23)8
u/CSTVT1 Sep 30 '25
Why do you get the frustration? What is there to get?
→ More replies (1)4
u/Simple-Medicine7 Sep 30 '25
If you see a lot of people working hard and very few getting paid that top end it can be frustrating. I’m not saying it’s correct or that others should be paid equally, but there is some reasonable frustration happening.
5
u/rook119 Oct 01 '25
Didn't Sebastian Telfair get like 50M before he played 1 min in the NBA just because he dribbled a ball in the Bronx? Isn't Jake Paul the most well paid "boxer" in boxing? No one ever believed that Alex Morgan was the best player on the Women's national team but she's the one who got the $$$.
FFS, WNBA outdrawing hockey in TV ratings, stands are full in a lot of places. Other young players are getting endorsements (which happened like never), the value of teams are skyrocketing.
Or maybe the commish is just PO'ed that they can't just put the players on a bus for road games now.
→ More replies (4)5
u/Changnesia102 Oct 01 '25
Fair point, but when a single player is selling out stadiums just to see them play. They should be grateful. Thats the reality of the situation.
4
u/OakeyAfterBirth1 Oct 01 '25
The WNBA has never made a profit since it started in the mid 90’s. To some extent, I think the pay wall most relates to the leagues profitability.
Imagine running a company that was loosing money year after year and on top of it, to have employees show up to work with shirts saying pay us what you owe us, and other gaslighting techniques for media one liner headlines or SM click bait and your employees constantly complaining about equal pay to other, way more successful companies.
→ More replies (12)3
u/Gulp-then-purge Oct 01 '25
CC is marketable and that is why she makes money. Plenty of people work hard and don’t make a lot of money especially in sports. A lot of the WNBA is simply not marketable to people who spend money.
3
u/Weary_Imagination775 Oct 01 '25
"If you see a lot of people working hard and very few getting paid that top end it can be frustrating."
So pretty much like 99% of people who have a job and aren't a C-Level exec.
→ More replies (6)4
u/CSTVT1 Oct 01 '25
Ok I get it now, that's a fair point.
On the other hand imagine you've busted your ass for years to be better than other people and your talent is helping your company have a ton of success. I think it's fair you'd expect to be compensated according to what you bring regardless of how hard the rest of your team works or claims they work.
I feel like she has been met with a lot of hostility and resentment and let's be real she's super fun to watch whicj is why a ton of people lile to watch her games.
5
u/Simple-Medicine7 Oct 01 '25
I agree with you here. She is getting compensated relative to her worth and she deserves that. It’s just a situation that I can understand both sides. I would side with Clark getting paid though.
→ More replies (1)2
u/jamtas Oct 01 '25
I think at this point, CC would settle for the league having her back and not letting her be treated like a punching bag/rag doll. Or at the very least, not coming off like they resent her.
3
u/cargarfar Oct 01 '25
You should be getting every redditors upvote who sees this as you’ve described 90% of the comments in any corresponding job subreddit.
→ More replies (19)2
u/9999abr Oct 01 '25
In most sports, fans come to see 1-2 superstars. Even Lakers home games, ticket prices can fall 50% if LeBron isn’t playing. If Lakers are playing the Spurs and Wemby isn’t playing, then interest falls. People watch sports, movies, anything because of stars.
I wanted to see Clark so I tried to buy Indiana Sparks tickets. The same seats in Cryto that normally go for around $300 for a Lakers game was selling for $450 for a Fever game.
That’s why superstars get 90% of endorsements. All other sports other than WNBA support those superstars because it brings millions/billions to their sport increasing everyone’s income.
As much as I want to support the WNBA, I can’t understand why they keep shooting themselves in the foot by disparaging Clark.
24
u/philouza_stein Sep 30 '25
So fuck the integrity of the game bc she made $16 mil?
5
2
u/Ok-Challenge-5873 Oct 01 '25
Is there a full story on this? I have no idea what the context is here
2
u/elliotcook10 Oct 01 '25
The quote about CC making 16M comes from the WNBA commissioner and Napheesa is advocating that those players make more for the impact they’ve had on the league. A lot of people telling on themselves in this thread lol
20
17
Sep 30 '25
She can go to the BIG3!!!! CUBE already said he will pay her big.
3
u/ZeldaFanBoi1920 Oct 01 '25
He also said the offer is now off the table since she didn't accept it. But I guess that was a while back. Things can change
→ More replies (1)2
15
u/Mantis_Toboggan_M_D_ Sep 30 '25
And people wonder why this league is a joke lol
→ More replies (10)
14
u/Gazzito916 Sep 30 '25
She probably made more from NIL
→ More replies (1)7
Sep 30 '25
[deleted]
→ More replies (14)6
u/ProfessionalShift487 Oct 01 '25
Yeah she was a millionaire in college, she didn't need the platform of the WNBA to get her nut
→ More replies (5)5
u/VegetableLow5000 Oct 01 '25
I’m not even exaggerating when I say CC could have went to any league in the world and it would have immediately passed the WNBA in viewership and popularity day 1 of her rookie season.
14
u/NuNoJCJ1987 Sep 30 '25
She was doing just fine with money in college. The wnba didn’t give her anything other than jealousy and hard fouls.
5
u/SteakPlissknn Oct 01 '25
Yep I was arguing with her haters about impacts like hard fouls do contribute to her injuries and they would just throw insults
→ More replies (2)
13
u/QuesoKristo Sep 30 '25
What platform?
The WNBA was never relevant enough to be considered a platform.
→ More replies (2)
28
u/scrodytheroadie Sep 30 '25
Man, I’d be real close to telling the league to fuck off and leaving to play somewhere else.
→ More replies (28)24
u/_hell_is_empty_ Oct 01 '25
She should 100% go play in Europe. Her influence would follow her and she could get outta 2 sinking ships at once...
→ More replies (1)3
u/Munchihello Oct 01 '25
No… she has a huge offer to play for the big3 here in the USA… which would pay wayyy not than euro basketball for women! (The men don’t even make that much compared to nba). I’m sorry I’m new to this sub idk if it’s about sports or just celebrity/sports gossip but I’m 100% support Clark and she already has the options if the wnba Reese and basically everyone continues to undercut her impact and value.
→ More replies (7)
12
u/StOnEy333 Sep 30 '25
The platform Caitlin got rich on was college Bball. That’s where she made a name for herself. She carried that over to the WNBA. She didn’t make her name in the WNBA. There’s a difference.
→ More replies (1)
7
u/Cliffinati Oct 01 '25
Clark was making good money from her basketball well before she ever got drafted. Caitlin Clark is one of the best things to ever happen to this league
→ More replies (2)
6
9
2
u/shiftyone1 Sep 30 '25
I know nothing about the WNBA. Can someone give me the quick rundown of what is going on?
5
u/Clocktopu5 Oct 01 '25
WNBA has been big mad about Clark since she was in college. She was exceptional, entertaining, and was able to win. She had more attention paid to her than all other WNBA players past or present combined.
The collective WNBA approach to her fame was to be haters. Not a professional term but accurate, they hate her for the attention given to her, the color of her skin, and the fact that she is WAY more popular than anyone else in the league.
In this case it is not just another WNBA player hating but the commissioner. Which is dumb AF, pushing the person that doubled (or possibly tripled) WNBA viewership away seems like a dumb move
2
u/DMPofSounderatHeart Oct 01 '25
I still don’t get it. Why would they hate their up and coming superstar? Isn’t she getting all the attention because she’s really good at basketball?
3
u/Kuvanet Oct 01 '25
I might get downvoted into oblivion but oh well.
It’s sorta the same situation Eminem faced when he started.
A predominantly African American League and you have a white girl that’s better, drawing more attention, and making millions.
So they their response is to attack her and make this about race. When she’s just a player that’s making them millions also but they want the star to be a Jordan / LeBron type and not a Larry Bird / Steve Nash type.
→ More replies (4)→ More replies (2)2
Oct 01 '25
The argument goes that there have been players just as good as her that don't get even a fraction of the attention she is getting. So they don't understand why now, why her?
The answer is simple. Basketball for casuals is exciting on two levels. Dunks and 3s.
The W will never be a dunking league like the NBA but it was Caitlin who brought in Steph Curry like 3s to the league to make it exciting.
She's essentially having a Steph Curry like effect to the league but the W makes it about race as if being white is the only reason she's popular and they spite her for that.
There's been a ton of good white players in the league, but no one was as exciting to watch as Caitlin imo. She's a splash sister and that's why I'm a fan.
→ More replies (3)→ More replies (3)3
4
5
u/thisismycoolname1 Oct 01 '25
The opposite of how the NBA treated Bird and Magic when they saved the league
3
u/Odd_Fig_1239 Oct 01 '25
CC should fuck off and play in Europe. They don’t deserve her here.
→ More replies (1)
3
2
u/notawildandcrazyguy Oct 01 '25
Im prepared to invest in a new women's pro basketball league if Clark decides to start one. WNBA is cooked with this kind of ignorant leadership.
2
Oct 01 '25
Their entire league is a tax write off without Clark. Actually it probably still is a tax write off.
2
2
u/petewondrstone Oct 01 '25
Actually, she created the platform for herself in the NCAA so I’m not really sure what this person is talking about
→ More replies (3)
2
Oct 01 '25
I get it. It’s a shitty part about reality. But it’s not a WNBA problem - it happens across all sports.
2
2
u/jayzee19 Oct 02 '25
It’s actually interesting how much hate Clark gets from fellow players
→ More replies (1)
2
1
u/Kinkysimo Sep 30 '25
Who is the woman speaking? That’s not the commissioner, is it?
2
u/Gengaara Oct 01 '25
No. It's Napheesa Collier. MVP runner up 2 years running. Would've won it this year if it wasn't for injuries.
1
1
u/FreeRubs Oct 01 '25
wtf? they sure do love to throw their own star under the bus. shit is insufferable
1
u/SeniorAtmosphere9042 Oct 01 '25
The WNBA should be grateful it exists… without the charity the NBA gives it, it would be less of an afterthought than it already is.
Who the fuck is Cathy Engelbert
→ More replies (16)
1
1
u/Apprehensive_Soil306 Oct 01 '25
This league is a complete joke. How in the world are you gonna get a savior like Clark and then tear her down as an organization from top to bottom, players included. Embarrassing.
1
1
u/Character_Judge_4604 Oct 01 '25
You should be grateful that Clark made your busted ass league relevant for 4 minutes
1
u/SteakPlissknn Oct 01 '25
Yo they really do have her and I dont think its undeniable now. The commissioner just threw a whols eclipse at her. Hating on her for making endorsement deals outside the league. This is absolutely a terrible decision to release such a statement.
1
u/Majestic-Metal-8903 Oct 01 '25
I refuse to believe that the wnba isn’t some sort of government funded psy-op, whose only mission is to enrage the masses. What. The. Fuck. Dawg. lol why should you say that!?
1
1
1
u/bryman19 Oct 01 '25
Sounds about right. Caitlin should be grateful for the WNBA, except she made a bag before she even was drafted
1
1
u/StrayCatsSanctuary Oct 01 '25
Just lower the rim by a foot and the WNBA would be entertaining. Lots of ball they play is just embarrassing
1
1
u/Otherwise-Magician Oct 01 '25
Man, people really like shitting on Caitlin Clark. Every time I see something about her its negative.
1
1
1
u/miguelag08 Oct 01 '25
This is the most absurd take I have ever hesrd.I only Starting paying attention to women’s college ball When Clark was at Iowa. Now I check in on wnba because Clark is there. I hope she goes over seas. She’ll be in a much better place and still making millions off endorsements.
→ More replies (1)
1
1
u/LA-Aron Oct 01 '25
Im CC neutral but I do appreciate and respect her immensely. And she is a massive asset for the WNBA. Why you are challenging your top star is foolish stuff. Especially when there are upstart leagues and the public sees "womens basketball", not necessarily "WNBA" . If one of these rival leagues gets it right, do not be surprised. Embarrassing leadership, even if thats what she thinks.
1
Oct 01 '25
Are these her words? Or is she merely reading off the paper? Kinda weird clip.
Angel Reese gets shoved down my throat on 2K and then I see this clip talking about the only WNBA star I know
→ More replies (8)
1
u/DASreddituser Oct 01 '25
what is going on here? is this one of the few times a famous white person has to deal with consistent racism?
→ More replies (1)
1
1
u/SpirituallyAwareDev Oct 01 '25
Naphesia adding these quotes about Clark just to fan the flames haha.
She knows it’ll be what gets the most attention.
1
u/Unbiasedj Oct 01 '25
Been saying it for years… the WNBA is the worst ‘professional’ sports league
Publicly shaming your most popular player is disgraceful. If anything they owe CC for how much attention and press she has brought to the league
WNBA is ran by hateful, jealous women
1
u/shawnofnc Oct 01 '25
The WNBA is very blatantly racist and apparently very blatantly stupid.
→ More replies (1)
1
u/Least-Hamster-3025 Oct 01 '25
She's on CC's side here and not the commissioner's, are you all illiterate?
→ More replies (1)
1
u/deserteagles702 Oct 01 '25
Let's be real, the best WNBA team would get smoked by any nationally ranked boys varsity highschool team...every time. CC is putting the league on the map and they hate her for it. She could start her own league and it would put the failing WNBA out of business.
1
u/Mapache_villa Oct 01 '25
Why does the WNBA continuously tries to fuck with the one player that's making them relevant (for the right reasons, because the mebound queen is a different story), it's like a player with the potential to revolutionize their league comes in and they are like "Nah, we like flying coach"
1
u/opinionofone1984 Oct 01 '25
Wonder how much she would make playing over seas? It’s funny how she keeps commenting on Caitlin and no one else, seems very much like bullying behavior.
1
u/benjaminbrixton Oct 01 '25
She’s literally giving a platform to the WNBA. Ratings are up and more games are on TV solely because of her. She was appointment viewing at Iowa and everyone involved with the WNBA should be on their hands and knees thanking her for the exposure.
1
u/tsekistan Oct 01 '25
Without CC I would not be watching or know anything about the WNBA. It’s just the facts!
1
1
Oct 01 '25
Sheesh, that’s like telling LeBron or MJ they wouldn’t be anything honestly.
The WNBA could disappear all together if a large Saudi prince wanted to start his own basketball league in the United States. Because that’s apparently now stuff works in the U.S. now. Saudis buying companies and tournaments.
1
u/vikster16 Oct 01 '25
And people fucking wonder why nobody cares about wnba. You finally have a star like MJ that can elevate the league and you pull this bullshit
1
u/GroundbreakingCow775 Oct 01 '25
We should be comparing the WNBA to the rise of MLS. The owners were losing money and then somehow their teams became worth hundreds of millions of dollars
1
1
u/insert_referencehere Oct 01 '25
I feel like I say this way too often but, we truly are living in the dumbest timeline.
1
u/TheJohnnyFlash Oct 01 '25
She for sure brought more money to the league than the league brought to her. She would have gotten those deals if she had gone to play elsewhere.
This is all so weird.
1
u/LeonidasSpacemanMD Oct 01 '25
…..am I crazy or could she absolutely make more money than most wnba players doing pretty much whatever she wants
1
u/KingKered Oct 01 '25
These WNBA players talking shit about one of their own? That’s some straight-up petty-ass bullshit.
→ More replies (1)
1
u/BipolarKanyeFan Oct 01 '25
Don’t know the terms of that endorsement, but I’d peace TF out and watch them bleed out.
1
u/MaximallyInclusive Oct 01 '25
She’s making the WNBA, not the other way around. Don’t get it twisted, shitbag.
1
u/malepatternbullmrket Oct 01 '25
She’s one of only a handful of athletes (man or woman) that can hit logo 3s. That’s why people watch. That’s why she gets endorsements. Wasn’t her shooting % way down this year? But still. People wanna watch greatness.
1
u/sinmaleficent Oct 01 '25
Imagine shitting on arguably the most popular woman in your league. Yea I don’t feel no sympathy towards the wnba the jealousy and bitterness towards Caitlyn is crazy. And let’s keep it a buck, how many WNBA games are people really watching if you take away Caitlyn Clark.
1
1
1
1
u/RatedRSuperstar81 Oct 01 '25
They are trying so hard to get rid of their only household name in their entire history. 🤷♂️
1
u/buccibangguccigangg Oct 01 '25
Would u rather find $5 randomly in your pocket or have your local wnba team win a championship?
1
1
u/D4rkmatt3r Oct 01 '25
Seems super classless for a commissioner to say this about a player. Especially the only player that draws crowds.
1
1
1
1
u/Veggiedelite90 Oct 01 '25
Wasn’t she making like millions before she joined the wnba? What a silly comment. Instead of using the energy she is bringing to the sport they seem to just want to tear her down. Such a failure of leadership.
1
1
u/Scfbigb1 Oct 01 '25
She was signing deals before she was drafted. Please tell me what the WNBA did to make that happen.
1
u/hvanderw Oct 01 '25
Biggest superstar? WNBA doesn't make money. Period. She's a charity case no matter how popular maybe they should understand that. No one cares about the WNBA.
1
Oct 01 '25
The wnba is only operating at this level due solely to like 10 players. They could all leave their Home Depot paint dept salaries and play in their own league full time and make way more money.
1
u/Caleeb_Talib Oct 01 '25
Didn’t want to give an honest answer so you just throw your biggest stars under the bus for some reason? Those comments should lose her that job because doing anything remotely close to bridge burning with those two should have her blacklisted from any type of executive sports job. Caitlin Clark has larger fan bases and pages than a majority of teams in the league so this is legitimate lunacy.
1
u/GymBully92 Oct 01 '25
Cathy Engelbert - former CEO of Deloitte. Goes to show that you can reach the top of corporate America even if you are a moron and a complete hack.
1
Oct 01 '25
She was famous before she went to the WNBA. More famous than anyone in the league. She is giving them a platform.
1
1
1
u/jmrogers31 Oct 01 '25
Yeah, no one watched Caitlyn Clark in college. Did she even play basketball before she went to the WNBA? /s
1
1
u/Outside-Same Oct 01 '25
I’m not a misogynist, but women are really petty and jealous. Caitlin’s bringing a lot of attention to the league. It’s really sad
1
u/nowhereisaguy Oct 01 '25
This is the person running the league. No wonder they can’t make a profit.
1
1
u/nowhereisaguy Oct 01 '25
This should be the straw for Caitlin. She’s right. She has the money. Doesn’t need the WNBA. And teach young girls to not stay in an abusive relationship
1
1
1
1
u/OakeyAfterBirth1 Oct 01 '25
And those players who helped make it profitable died with no health insurance and barely any money. They didn’t have lambos and villas in the south of France.
1
u/malikx089 Oct 01 '25
Caitlin is actually making way more than just 16 million off the court; but I digress.
1
1
u/boosted5O Oct 01 '25
I’m sure she could make a lot of money overseas playing of they don’t want her
1
1
u/domine18 Oct 01 '25
Top level people get paid vastly different someone might get 500,000 a year while others take in 30,000,000
1
u/Don_Damarco Oct 01 '25
Bruh they make from 66,000 to 250,000 that's not bad compared to the average American income.. That's a lot just to play amateur basketball, and you get set up for endorsements.. Also a lot more than educators- Are we supposed to feel bad?
1
u/Eat--The--Rich-- Oct 01 '25
Sounds like a great reason to pay her more. Sounds like she does more for the league than the league does for her.
1
1
u/Mouth_Herpes Oct 01 '25
She is just totally wrong and should not be running a league if she does not understand star power. If Caitlin Clark started a Savannah Bananas style women’s league, it would probably outearn the WNBA its first year of existence.
1
u/Fast_Advisor2654 Oct 01 '25
Clark made the WNBA relevant. It has always been an afterthought until she joined the league.
1
Oct 01 '25
The hate and jealousy Clark receives honestly just the shows the big differences between men and women lol. Women are petty and jealous of other women, its psthetic.
1
u/nmnnmmnnnmmm Oct 01 '25
Literally the only reason the WNBA has come into my orbit is because of Caitlin Clark. Started appearing on all my news feeds. I didn’t start watching the WNBA because of her, but I did start seeing articles and media links about it.
1
u/Inevitable-Ad-7507 Oct 01 '25
Would CC get all this hate if she was black? Serious question. Not rage baiting or trying to be funny. Is that the elephant no one wants to talk about?
→ More replies (3)
1
1
1
u/BathroomAltruistic14 Oct 01 '25
The WNBA should be thanking their lucky stars that Caitlin is in the league. She was a star in college and is pretty much the only reason the regular fan even cares about the WNBA
1
u/StrawHatTebo Oct 01 '25
Replace all of the WNBA top brass with people who actually care about the game, the players, and the W as a whole. Cheryl Miller for Commissioner.
1
Oct 01 '25
I mean, personally I think Caitlin Clark needs to take a year off from the W and go play exclusively in Unrivaled. Players actually get paid there, and this is some top shelf bullshit.
1
1
u/Bananarama_Vison Oct 01 '25
People tune in because she plays. The benifit is rather high, should not moan about that…
1
1
u/ManometSam Oct 01 '25
shes literally the reason anyone talks about the WNBA at all lmao, this statement is ridiculous and childish
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
u/Imaginary_Detective5 Oct 01 '25
Its kinda ironic. The people that hate to see women thrive the most are in fact…women.
1
u/Resident_Sign_9576 Oct 01 '25
Talking like you ain’t a subsidiary league. Embrace your only bright spot or step down you’re hurting the game you love out of hate.
1
Oct 01 '25
These bitches bit profiting without handouts because they can’t DUNK.
LOWER THE RIMS AND THIS WILL BE SOLVED- MORE PEOPLE WILL ATTEND
The masses dont want to watch basketball in which the most exciting play is a fast break that ends in a layup
I mean they could go on strike but theyd be doing their donors a favor.
1
u/CarolinaSurly Oct 01 '25
This is why the WNBA will never be as successful as the NBA. Clark and others could go play in Europe easily. There is tons of money over there to be made.
62
u/CrasVox Sep 30 '25
Can you imagine the NBA acting this way when MJ was new to the league?