Napheesa Collier of the Lynx caused a stir earlier this week when she chastised Cathy Engelbert and the WNBA’s leadership for not paying their top players.
Collier stated: “I asked how she planned to fix the fact that players like Caitlin [Clark], Angel [Reese] and Paige [Bueckers], who are clearly driving massive revenue for the league, are making so little their first four years,”
“Her response was, ‘Caitlin should be grateful she makes $16 million off the court, because without the platform that the WNBA gives her, she wouldn’t make anything.’ In that same conversation, she told me, ‘Players should be on their knee thanking their lucky stars for the media rights deal that I got them.'”
During Indiana’s exit interviews on Thursday, Clark endorsed Collier’s critique, but she declined to comment on Engelbert’s purported remarks regarding the Fever star’s reasons for gratitude.
“I have a lot of respect for ‘Phee, and I think she made a lot of very valid points.”
Caitlin Clark on the state of the WNBA, Napheesa Collier’s comments, and WNBA commissioner Cathy Engelbert:
“This is straight up the most important moment in this league’s history.” pic.twitter.com/4h0k50lHnl
— WISH-TV News (@WISHNews8) October 2, 2025
The WNBA’s CBA ends at the end of this month, and since the league’s games are increasingly being shown on television, there will likely be a lot of disagreement over player compensation in the new contract.
