Tag: caitlin clark iowa

Iowa’s Caitlin Clark hasn’t ruled out returning in 2024-25

Could we get another year of Caitlin Clark?

Caitlin Clark could grace us with her basketball prowess for another two years at Iowa. She recently went on the Dan Patrick Show and shared that her COVID eligibility year might be something she utilizes. Clark is only a junior, so after next season she might use her COVID year and play for another season.

Patrick also called Clark the “best shooter in college basketball right now, men or women.”

This is a move that has become increasingly popular in this name, image, and likeness (NIL) era in college. Since college athletes are now able to monetize their NIL, thanks to the United States Supreme Court decision in Alston v NCAA, some are making the decision to stay in college longer to develop their skills, win championships, and make money through brand deals. As Clark adeptly points out in her interview, NIL is something that is still available to professional players, in fact, professional players were able to monetize long before the court case. This concept is not new and if we want to get a little legal nerdy, NIL as we know it is actually called the Right to Publicity and is an intellectual property right that is protected by law.

Clark is a basketball powerhouse at Iowa and is known for her clutch ability to score in seemingly impossible situations. She is ranked 12th in NIL valuation as per on3 with a valuation of $147,000 annually and has cemented brand deals with Nike and Topps, just to name a few. Unlike men’s professional basketball which has 30 NBA teams, 30 G-League teams, and numerous overseas opportunities, women’s professional basketball is a bit different. There are 12 WNBA teams with plans to expand by 1-2 teams in the future. That is only a total of 144 roster spots in the WNBA. Many talented players never get drafted or play for a WNBA team or professionally even if they are among the top players in their college conferences.

More options are opening up for women’s basketball players domestically with the launch of Athletes Unlimited, but many players still must go overseas to play professionally. That leads to many issues and problems for the players. Most recently the unlawful detainment of WNBA champion and Olympic medalist Brittney Griner in a Russian prison while she was overseas playing for a team there, brought the issue of lack of domestic opportunities for players to the international spotlight. But things are changing for the better and women’s college basketball fans are able to follow the careers of their favorite players past college with easier access.

If Clark decides to use her COVID eligibility then she will have time to continue to develop as a player, earn more revenue through her NIL deals, and potentially have more roster spots available to play professional basketball domestically. And who wouldn’t want more buzzer-beaters from Clark?

Check out Hawkeyes Wire for more on Clark and Iowa

[lawrence-auto-related count=3 category=25]

[mm-video type=video id=01gjg29zdkhsqsrsrn47 playlist_id=01gq2fszf7mxxc88k4 player_id=01f5k5y2jb3twsvdg4 image=https://images2.minutemediacdn.com/image/upload/video/thumbnail/mmplus/01gjg29zdkhsqsrsrn47/01gjg29zdkhsqsrsrn47-654edc575af8ab2f12db726a713c6d28.jpg]