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Ice Cube gives McAfee inside scoop on Big3 offer to Caitlin Clark (1:53)
Big3 co-founder Ice Cube gives Pat McAfee details on his offer to Caitlin Clark to join the league. (1:53)
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Michael Voepel, ESPN.comMar 27, 2024, 12:30 PM ET
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- Michael Voepel covers the WNBA, women’s college basketball, and other college sports for espnW. Voepel began covering women’s basketball in 1984, and has been with ESPN since 1996.
Iowa women’s basketball star Caitlin Clark has been offered $5 million to play in Ice Cube’s Big3 league, league co-founder Ice Cube confirmed on social media.
“We intended the offer to remain private while Caitlin Clark plays for the championship,” Ice Cube wrote on X. “But I won’t deny what’s now already out there: BIG3 made a historic offer to Caitlin Clark. Why wouldn’t we? Caitlin is a generational athlete who can achieve tremendous success in the BIG3.
“The skeptics laughed when we made Nancy Lieberman the first female coach of a men’s pro team, and she won the championship in her first year. Then Lisa Leslie won it all in year two. With our offer, Caitlin Clark can make history and break down even more barriers for women athletes.”
Clark, who will be playing in the NCAA tournament Sweet 16 this weekend in Albany, New York, was not available for comment Wednesday morning. ESPN has reached out to her agency, Excel, for comment.
ESPN also reached out to the WNBA and the league’s players’ union to see if Clark playing in another league could be allowed under the current collective bargaining agreement. A spokesperson for the union said they were unaware of the Big3 offer and couldn’t comment at this time. The league has not yet responded to ESPN.
The league does have prioritization rules in its CBA, which can affect players who participate in overseas leagues. But it remains to be seen if those would prevent Clark’s Big3 participation.
Appearing on “The Pat McAfee Show” on Wednesday, Ice Cube said he thinks “it’s definitely doable” in his mind for Clark to play in both the Big3 and WNBA. He said it would take a 10-week commitment (on Saturdays) on Clark’s part, accounting for the league’s playoffs.
“It’s up to the player. We’ve always wanted to work with the WNBA,” he said. “We’ve wanted to work with the NBA but unfortunately that hasn’t been able to happen but maybe this will open the door for that.”
Ice Cube said he believes Lieberman would be the perfect coach and mentor for Clark if she accepts the Big3’s offer. He said he believes Clark’s presence would put the Big3 into “a different stratosphere.”
He said Clark is “a special player that’s moving the needles in a lot of different areas — ratings, attendance, ticket sales. So of course, our sponsors are very interested in a player like this.”
Clark is expected to be the WNBA’s No. 1 draft pick on April 15 by the Indiana Fever. WNBA rookie salaries for lottery draft picks (Nos. 1-4) in 2024 are $76,535 and climb to $97,582 by their fourth season.
Clark already has a considerable endorsement portfolio with companies such as Nike, State Farm, Gatorade and Gainbridge, which has naming rights for the arena in Indianapolis where the WNBA’s Fever and NBA’s Pacers play.
