Caitlin Clark Gets $5 Million Earnings Increase Despite Injury Plagued 2025

Missing most of the 2025 WNBA season didn't keep Caitlin Clark from cashing in this year.

May 28, 2025; Washington, District of Columbia, USA; Indiana Fever guard Caitlin Clark before the game against the Washington Mystics at Entertainment & Sports Arena. Mandatory Credit: Emily Faith Morgan-Imagn Images | Emily Faith Morgan-Imagn Images

Indiana Fever star Caitlin Clark did not have the 2025 she was hoping for.

It's hard to imagine that 2024 could have gone better for No. 22. While her Iowa Hawkeyes squad came up short in the NCAA championship game against the South Carolina Gamecocks, Clark still produced a historic college career that included her becoming college basketball's all-time leading scorer.

A few weeks after that championship game defeat, Clark was drafted No. 1 overall by the Fever in the 2024 WNBA Draft and went on to have a record-breaking rookie season, which culminated in her winning the 2024 WNBA Rookie of the Year Award. This led many to believe Clark could win league MVP in 2025 and perhaps lead the Fever to a deep run in the postseason.

While the Fever did make a deep 2025 WNBA postseason run, it wasn't with Clark on the court. She only played in 13 regular season games because of several soft tissue injuries, which was massively disappointing not only for her, but for all of women's basketball.

Jul 15, 2025; Boston, Massachusetts, USA; Indiana Fever guard Caitlin Clark (22) reacts with a possible injury after a play against the Connecticut Sun in the second half at TD Garden. Mandatory Credit: David Butler II-Imagn Images | David Butler II-Imagn Images

It would be easy to assume that Clark's potential earnings would decrease in 2025, given that she wasn't able to compete on the court (which could have negative ramifications on brand deals). But it's not clear that this was not at all the case.

Sportico 'Highest-Paid Female Athletes' List Shows Caitlin Clark Earning Skyrocket

Each year, Sportico releases its annual list of the Highest-Paid Female Athletes. Last year, Clark was No. 10 on the list, amassing $11 million in earnings.

Sportico released the 2025 list on December 3. Clark jumped up to No. 6 on the 2025 list, and her earnings also jumped up to $16 million. Like last year, Clark is the only women's basketball player who made the list, although the list's author, Kurt Badenhausen, did note that New York Liberty star Sabrina Ionescu just barely missed the cut.

10 of the 15 highest paid female athletes in 2025 are tennis players.

Via @Sportico pic.twitter.com/z1lQzzFhXP

— José Morgado (@josemorgado) December 3, 2025

10 of the top 15 earners for women were tennis players. And Clark's close friend and Pro-Am golf partner, Nelly Korda, was right behind her on the list, having amassed $11 million in 2026.

The aforementioned graphic shows that essentially all of Clark's earnings are owed to off-court endorsements, rather than her WNBA salary. This is no surprise, since Clark had a 2025 salary of just $78,066.

Most veteran players in the WNBA are set to receive massive salary increases this offseason, so long as the league office and the players agree to ratify a new Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA). However, Clark is still on her rookie contract, which runs through the 2027 season.

But she'll surely cash in after that. And her brand endorsements and partnerships are only going to increase from this point on, especially if Clark can have a healthy and successful 2026 season.