 "'Pay Us What You Owe Us': WNBA sensation Caitlin Clark calls for better pay")
Indiana Fever sensation Caitlin Clark called for better pay in the WNBA on Saturday as labor negotiations between the league and players intensify, while Commissioner Cathy Engelbert said she was optimistic about their latest talks.
Thousands of fans wearing “Clark” jerseys packed the Gainbridge Fieldhouse for the sold-out All-Star Game on Saturday, while the wildly popular Rookie of the Year was forced to sit out after sustaining a groin injury earlier in the week.
Clark was an omnipresent figure in Indianapolis in the lead-up, despite not being able to play, as her face featured on ads for Nike, Wilson and Gatorade across the city center.
‘Pay Us What You Owe Us’
Asked how those brand deals stacked against her league salary, Clark responded, “That’s a good question.”
She told reporters, “That’s where we’re really fortunate is that we have those other deals. I think that’s one of the things that we’re in the room fighting for.
“We should be paid more. Hopefully that’s the case moving forward, as the league continues to grow. I think it’s something that’s probably the most important thing that we are in the room advocating about.”
Players used the spotlight of the WNBA All-Star game to champion their cause on Saturday, warming up in T-shirts bearing slogans such as “Pay Us What You Owe Us,” and fans began cheering “Pay them!” after the final buzzer sounded.
Impact Shorts
More Shorts“To have the fans backing us - I think it means everything,” said Napheesa Collier, who captained her team to a 151-131 win over Team Clark as she scored a WNBA All-Star Game record 36 points.
The Women’s National Basketball Players Association and the league met on Thursday in Indianapolis to negotiate a new collective bargaining agreement after the players voted to opt out of their current deal at the end of the season.
The union said after the meeting the two sides were far apart on several issues.
Both teams wearing shirts that read “Pay Us What You Owe Us” #WNBA pic.twitter.com/LB4LBAbPNr
— Aliyah Funschelle (@AliyahFun) July 20, 2025
Commissioner Cathy Engelbert struck a different tone with reporters, saying she felt the meeting with players had been productive.
“(I’m) really optimistic that we’ll get something done, that it’ll be transformational, and that next year at All-Star, we’ll be talking about how great everything is,” she said. “But obviously, there’s a lot of hard work to be done on both sides.”
Engelbert, who also oversaw the league when the last deal was struck in January 2020, has helmed the WNBA during a period of rapid growth, with TV ratings and attendance climbing fast.
“We want the same things as the players,” she added. “We want to significantly increase their salary and benefits, while balancing with our owners their ability to have a path of profitability.”
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