Caitlin Clark is in line to make more history — the NCAA phenom could become basketball’s first-ever $5 million woman, if she accepts a massive deal from Ice Cube’s Big3 league … TMZ Sports has learned.
Sources with direct knowledge of the deal tell us Cube’s up and coming basketball league has already put the 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 mil, guaranteed.
We’re told she would also get “substantial additional compensation” from merchandising and sponsorships — but here’s the biggest rub to the deal … Big3 would allow her to also play in the WNBA.
Caitlin, who’s Iowa Hawkeyes are getting ready for their Sweet 16 game this weekend in the Women’s NCAA Tournament, has already declared herself for the WNBA draft next month … and the Indiana Fever have made it clear they’re picking Caitlin with their #1 pick.
There are only 2 regular season Fever games that could potentially conflict with the BIG3 schedule — so, we’re told Cube’s league sees this as a win-win-win situation for both leagues, and obviously, Caitlin.
CC is the biggest name in college hoops this season, as she became the all-time scoring leader in NCAA history … and that’s for women and men, as she topped “Pistol” Pete Maravich’s 54-year-old record of 3,667 points. So, there’s no mystery why the BIG3 would go all out to get her.
Here’s how astronomical this offer is for Caitlin — the highest-paid player in the WNBA last year was Erica Wheeler, who made $242,000. It’s expected Caitlin’s WNBA deal would be slightly higher than that, but nothing in the universe of the 7-figures she stands to make from BIG3.
She would be the first female player in the BIG3, but she’s famously grown up playing and practicing against male players … so, that’s nothing new for her.
The only potential hitch is that BIG3 and the NBA — which operates the WNBA — have bad blood. TMZ Sports broke the story … the U.S. Dept. of Justice launched an antitrust investigation last year into allegations the NBA is making moves to crush BIG3’s success.
It’s unclear if the WNBA could or would block Caitlin or any other player from playing in the BIG3 — but doing so might be a risky move, considering the DOJ investigation. As it is, many WNBA players play in other leagues overseas during their offseason in order to make more money.
We’ve reached out to Caitlin’s camp to gauge their interest in the potentially history-making deal … we’ll let ya know as soon as we hear back.