Caitlin Clark and Angel Reese are overpaid with their new $70K-plus WNBA contracts and critics are trying to give them a sense of entitlement, like retired soccer star Megan Rapinoe, according to conservative sports commentator Jason Whitlock.
Clark and Reese were arguably the two biggest stars in women's college basketball this past season, with unprecedented ratings coming to the sport.
Clark and Iowa's final three games of the NCAA Tournament, including an Elite Eight matchup against Reese's LSU squad, each set the record for the most-watch women's college basketball game of all-time.
Still, some are unpleased with Clark's rookie-year contract with the Indiana Fever of around $76,000, and Reese's $73,000 deal with the Chicago Sky.
Whitlock warns that Clark and Reese giving the impression they're owed something would be horrible for them.
Caitlin Clark was drafted by the Indiana Fever at No 1 overall in Monday's WNBA Draft
Angel Reese was drafted by the Chicago Sky and was immensely popular while playing for LSU
In 30 years, the WNBA has never once turned a profit. The women are overpaid already at $75K a year. They’re trying to create a sense of entitlement in these women. pic.twitter.com/uj2aL9bgqU
— Jason Whitlock (@WhitlockJason) April 17, 2024
Rapinoe has been a face for equal treatment and pay for women's sports since drawing the ire of former President Donald Trump during the 2019 FIFA World Cup, where she was named the tournament's best player.
Rapinoe was the 2019 tournament's co-top goal scorer and converted the game-winning penalty-kick goal that helped the United States women's national team win their fourth World Cup..
'What they're trying to create in these women is a sense of entitlement. "Oh, you're owed something, you're mistreated. You know what, you should be just like Megan Rapinoe!"' Whitlock stated.
'"You should be just like all the angry feminists that have dominated the WNBA and led it to 30-plus years of no profits and total irrelevance. You need too mimic their behavior,"' Whitlock continued.
Whitlock has been a critic of Megan Rapinoe for years because of her standing up for women
Rapinoe is one of the biggest supporters in sports of equal pay and treatment for women
Whitlock also believes the WNBA was given a gift in Reese's likability by her entering the league, which he hopes they do not squander.
Whitlock did not mention the likability of Clark.
'We haven't been unfair to women,' Whitlock declared. 'You don't have to believe every lie told over Twitter or told on some college campus.'
The average WNBA base salary last season was $113,295, with the league's highest-earners approaching $250,000 per season.
