Caitlin Clark receives $5M offer to join Big3, Ice Cube confirms
Caitlin Clark will be WNBA-bound once Iowa's run in the NCAA Tournament ends, but Ice Cube wants to give her a second job, and it's reportedly a lucrative one.
Clark, the record-breaking women's college basketball star for the Hawkeyes, has received a $5 million offer to join the Big3 basketball league for its upcoming season, TMZ first reported.
Ice Cube, the CEO of the Big3, confirmed that he made the offer to Clark, writing in a social media post that he hoped to keep it quiet as Clark tries to lead Iowa to a national championship.
"But I won't deny what's now already out there: BIG3 made a historic offer to Caitlin Clark," the Big3's CEO wrote in a social media post. "Why wouldn't we? Caitlin is a generational athlete who can achieve tremendous success in the BIG3."
If Clark accepts the offer, she would be the first woman to play in the Big3. She would also be the first known women's player to play in an American men's professional basketball league. Two women have been selected in the NBA Draft. But the Golden State Warriors' selection of Denise Long in 1969 was voided, and Lusia Harris declined to try out for the Utah Jazz after they selected her in 1977.
"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," Ice Cube wrote in a social media post. "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."
While the Big3's season runs concurrently with the WNBA's regular season, the offer made to Clark would allow her to play in both leagues, according to TMZ. The Big3's season consists of eight regular-season games and up to two postseason games.
It's unknown if the WNBA would allow Clark to play in both leagues. But Ice Cube is hoping that the offer to Clark will allow her to not have to play overseas in the WNBA's offseason, which many of the league's players do to earn more money.
"America's women athletes should not be forced to spend their off seasons playing in often dismal and dubious foreign countries just to make ends meet," Ice Cube wrote in a social media post.
"And they should have more than just one professional option in the US at a time when American pro sports leagues are being infiltrated by autocratic, anti-women regimes such as Qatar," Ice Cube added. "Our pathbreaking offer to Caitlin Clark demonstrates that BIG3 now offers another choice for athletes."
Clark's $5 million offer from the Big3 is well north of the highest salary for a WNBA player, with the players set to earn a little more than $240,000 this season, per Spotrac.
Clark declared for the WNBA Draft on Feb. 29, announcing she'd forgo her final year of collegiate eligibility. It's highly expected that the Indiana Fever will select her with the No. 1 overall pick. If they do, the Fever would have two games that conflict with the Big3's schedule, according to TMZ.
While Clark possibly ponders the Big3's offer, she has led Iowa back to the Sweet 16 for a second straight season, where she'll face Colorado. Leading the nation in scoring (27.8 points per game) and assists (8.6), Clark is looking to lead Iowa back to the national title game after losing to LSU last year.
