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WNBA fable Nancy Lieberman believes Caitlin Clark is to convey for nan league's caller corporate bargaining statement (CBA) that has allowed players to get overmuch higher salaries.
"She’s a generational player. She came pinch a instrumentality guidelines of millions, and it’s helping nan league,"Lieberman said.
"They don’t get nan $2.2 cardinal corporate bargaining agreement, honestly, without her being there."
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Women's hoops fable Nancy Lieberman said she would person punched Chennedy Clark successful nan look if she were Caitlin Clark. (Getty Images)
That caller surge successful attraction has helped alteration nan financial early of nan WNBA.
The WNBA and nan Women’s National Basketball Players Association reached a tentative caller corporate bargaining statement successful March. The woody delivers awesome net increases, a larger net headdress and much subordinate benefits.
The caller WNBA CBA is simply a transformative seven-year labour woody establishing nan first-ever revenue-sharing exemplary (averaging 20% of convention and squad revenue). It astir quintuples nan squad net headdress and introduces sweeping upgrades to subordinate benefits, family planning and installation standard
Lieberman said Clark’s presence helped push nan convention into a caller era.
"You can’t contradict she brings nan media," Lieberman said. "You’re talking astir her. You astir apt weren’t talking astir anybody 4 years ago."
Lieberman compared Clark’s effect connected nan WNBA to that of Michael Jordan and Tiger Woods connected their respective sports.
"She’s done her job, conscionable for illustration Tiger did, conscionable for illustration Michael Jordan did," Lieberman said.
FEVER'S LEXIE HULL SPEAKS OUT AGAINST ATTACKS ON PLAYERS AS TEAM'S POPULARITY GROWS DURING CAITLIN CLARK ERA
Clark entered nan WNBA in 2024 aft a record-setting assemblage profession astatine Iowa. She brought monolithic tv audiences, sold-out arenas and a nationalist speech that followed her from assemblage into nan pros.
Lieberman said that benignant of attraction does not return distant from nan remainder of nan league. It helps expose much fans to everyone.
"Now, you return A’ja, you return Napheesa, you return Stewie, you return Kelsey Plum, and you return Sabrina, and each these different awesome athletes, and now you put them together — that’s very formidable," Lieberman said.
"These young players that are coming into nan convention person this unthinkable instrumentality base," Lieberman added. "They were making millions of dollars successful assemblage pinch their NILs, truthful they conscionable brought that to nan league...
"We shouldn’t beryllium suspicious of them," Lieberman said. "We should celebrate them, not tolerate them."
Clark's Indiana Fever are disconnected to a amazingly underwhelming commencement to nan 2026 play amid title expectations aft really adjacent nan squad sewage past year.
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In 2025, nan Fever came 1 crippled awkward of reaching nan WNBA Finals, all while Clark was sidelined pinch injury. But truthful acold Indiana is disconnected to conscionable a 6-5 commencement this year, while Clark has seen a seeming diminution successful shooting accuracy.
But Lieberman believes nan Fever will beryllium "fine" arsenic nan play develops. Lieberman said teams now circle Fever games nan measurement players erstwhile circled matchups pinch Michael Jordan.
"You spot nan schedule and you get amped up for nan Fever because you’re dealing pinch immoderate of nan most celebrated players successful the league," Lieberman said.
"Same pinch Angel Reese. So, it's conscionable portion of it, group utilized to get amped for Michael Jordan. It's okay, you've created a estimation for yourself, you've been capable to transcend nan reputation, and group want to play against nan best."
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She said nan aforesaid is existent for different marquee teams and stars.
"It’s for illustration nan Aces," Lieberman said. "You look astatine nan schedule and you go, ‘We’re playing A’ja Wilson,’ and you get amped up for this. Same pinch Angel Reese."
Jackson Thompson is simply a sports newsman for Fox News Digital covering captious governmental and taste issues successful sports, pinch an investigative lens. Jackson's reporting has been cited successful national authorities actions related to nan enforcement of Title IX, and successful bequest media outlets including The New York Times, The Los Angeles Times, The Philadelphia Inquirer, The Associated Press and ESPN.com.
