The Indiana Fever defeated the Minnesota Lynx on Tuesday night to win the WNBA Commissioner’s Cup final and the trophy also comes with significant prize money for the squad. In that sense, Caitlin Clark, who didn’t play due to a left groin injury, took the opportunity to send a pointed message to Commissioner Cathy Engelbert.
“You get more for this than you do if you’re a champion,” Clark said on Sydney Colson’s Instagram Live video. “Makes no sense. Someone tell Cathy [Engelbert] to help us out,” she added.
As winners of the Commissioner’s Cup, the Indiana Fever will receive a total of $500,000, which will be divided among the roster, giving each player approximately $30,000. In addition to the cash prize, the team will also receive $120,000 in cryptocurrency, thanks to the WNBA’s partnership with Coinbase. This crypto bonus will also be split evenly among the players.
In contrast, the WNBA playoffs offer a total prize pool of $500,000, but that amount is distributed based on how far each team advances in the postseason. This means teams that are eliminated earlier receive smaller sums.
The team that ultimately wins the WNBA championship earns around $250,000, which breaks down to roughly $20,000 per player. While winning the title is the league’s highest honor, it comes with a financial reward that is actually $10,000 less per player than what the Commissioner’s Cup champions take home.
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WNBA players are negotiating new CBA
Clark’s complaints come at a time when the WNBA Players Association (WNBPA), led by Seattle Storm’s Nneka Ogwumike, is negotiating a new Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA) with the league.
The current agreement is set to expire after the 2025 season, and players are advocating for higher salaries, better benefits, and improved travel conditions. At the same time, the league recently secured an 11-year, $2.2 billion media rights deal and is aiming to balance these demands with long-term financial sustainability.
Despite rising revenues, concerns about the league’s long-term profitability remain. However, as interest in the WNBA grows, fueled in large part by emerging stars like Clark, Angel Reese, and Paige Bueckers, the negotiations are expected to be anything but easy.
