Unrivaled opens door for Caitlin Clark U-turn after $1M offer

Caitlin Clark could still commit to playing in Unrivaled after receiving a $1 million offer as the new league has expanded its player pool to 36.

Unrivaled, a new 3×3 winter basketball league co-founded by WNBA stars Breanna Stewart and Naphessa Collier, announced that 36 players would now be signed ahead of January as opposed to the previous limit of 30. Aliyah Boston of the Indiana Fever was announced Thursday as the 30th player to sign, leaving six more spots should Clark decide to commit.

“We’re able to do this because we outperformed our financial projections,” Collier said in an announcement video. “So now we get to do something that we wanted to do in the future which is give more people spots in Unrivaled.”

Clark is yet to publicly confirm her participation, but due to her influence, she would be a major addition to the new league. As a result, Clark has been offered upwards of $1 million to play in the new winter league which is set to start in January 2025.The WNBA has seen a surge in ratings ever since Clark entered the league as the No. 1 pick of the 2024 WNBA Draft, and Unrivaled is keen to ensure that viewership carries over. According to Front Office Sports, not only has Clark been offered over $1 million to play, she could receive a percentage of ticket sales.The salary would be 1,200 times her WNBA rookie wage of $76,535 per season, but Unrivaled will receive major benefits should Clark partake. The average salary offered to the 30 participants stands at $250,000, but for just eight weeks of action, it’s significantly higher than the WNBA average.All players who have committed to playing in the inaugural season will receive equity in the league, with players such as Angel Reese, Kelsey Plum, Arike Ogunbowale, and Jackie Young already signing up. Following the expansion there will be six teams made up of six players, with all games set to be played in Miami.

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