Advertisement
Caitlin Clark has been a star from the moment she lit up college basketball at Iowa, and she’s carried that spotlight right into the WNBA. Now one of the league’s biggest attractions, Clark is not only leading the Indiana Fever on the court but also drawing major attention off of it.
That attention recently included a staggering offer from Ice Cube’s Big 3 League. According to David “Tattoo” Gonzalez, the voice of the Big 3, the league put a $15 million deal on the table for Clark to join its 2025 season. Gonzalez said the original offer started at $5 million but eventually grew to $15 million for the 10-week competition. That would have meant Clark earning $1.5 million a week.
The offer was far larger than her current WNBA salary and even rivalled the value of her endorsement portfolio. But despite the eye-popping figure, Clark reportedly turned it down.
One reason is timing. The Big 3 season runs from mid-June to mid-August, directly overlapping with the WNBA season, which stretches from May through September. Joining would have meant abandoning her commitment to the Fever and the WNBA, where she’s been one of the league’s central figures and faces of its future.
The Big 3, created by Ice Cube in 2017, is a unique 3-on-3 basketball league made up mostly of former NBA players. Games are played to 50 points, and rosters are kept small, with just five players per team. Over the years, the league has featured big names like Joe Johnson, Amar’e Stoudemire, and Rashard Lewis. This year’s season included Dwight Howard, Michael Beasley, Montrezl Harrell, Jeff Teague, Lance Stephenson, Corey Brewer, and Greg Monroe.
While adding Clark would have been a huge headline for the Big 3, her decision to stay focused on the WNBA makes sense. Clark is not only a rising star but also central to the league’s push for more visibility, higher attendance, and bigger media deals. Walking away from that momentum, even for a short, lucrative summer run, would have come at too high a cost.
So while the $15 million offer shows just how valuable she is in the sports world, Clark’s refusal signals that her focus remains on building her career in the WNBA and continuing to grow women’s basketball as a whole.