INDIANAPOLIS — Caitlin Clark is looking forward to taking a break from the spotlight for a couple months.
The Indiana Fever star has been in the public eye for nearly a full year, going from her senior season at Iowa to her rookie year in Indiana in a matter of months. She hasn’t had a break from high-level basketball (or from people analyzing her every move) for 11 months.
She’s taken photos with fans at the grocery store, been spotted on vacation in Mexico, gotten pictures taken of her in the airport, and has fans waiting to see her car drive out of Gainbridge Fieldhouse following games. On top of that, she talked to the media at every chance possible — sometimes multiple times a day.
Caitlin Clark ready for break: ‘Like everybody’s watching your every move’
It can be an exhausting life, always having to be on; she’s always getting asked to take pictures or sign autographs, even if it’s after a tough loss or times where she’s not feeling well. It’s hard to balance that, too, because that one picture could make a little kid’s year.
It’s hard, but it’s also something the Fever star is grateful for.
“I try to give people time if I have it, and it can be hard, because there are moments where you don’t always want to pose for a picture,” Clark said. “You just want to go and get your sandwich and eat your lunch. But I feel very thankful. I wouldn’t change anything for the world. I feel very thankful for the relationships I’ve built, the opportunities that I’ve had, the way people have supported me, and whether it was at Iowa or whether it’s now in the WNBA.”
So, after a whirlwind of a year in which she helped to sell out home and away arenas, broke the league’s single-season assists record and rookie scoring record, and came fourth in MVP voting in her first season in the league, Clark will not be playing any offseason basketball.
“She has endured a lot this season, and has handled it in the most professional way,” coach Christie Sides said. “She’s grown not just as a basketball player, but as a as a young professional.”
It’s not unusual for WNBA players to play some sort of basketball in the league’s six-month offseason; they go overseas to play in leagues in Turkey, China, Italy, Spain or other European countries, or stay stateside and participate in player-led leagues like Athletes Unlimited or Unrivaled.
Indiana Fever contracts: Indiana Fever free agent salaries and player contracts
For a long time, players went overseas to help supplement their salaries. While WNBA salaries have risen in recent years, it has long not been enough for players to support themselves, especially with agent fees, additional training, and optimal nutrition. So, even high-level players like Diana Taurasi, Breanna Stewart, Alyssa Thomas, and Sue Bird went overseas — where salaries are generally much higher — to supplement their lives. In 2015, Taurasi made $1.5 million from UMMC Ekaterinburg in Russia.
Unrivaled, starting this offseason, is an eight-week 3×3 league in Miami, beginning in January. Stewart and Napheesa Collier started the league as a way for top players in the WNBA to make extra money without having to go overseas, and it touts the highest salaries in women’s sports and an ownership stake in the league.
But with the endorsement deals Clark has, she doesn’t need the extra money — even if it’s millions of dollars to play some basketball for a couple months.
On top of her $76,000 salary from the WNBA, Clark has an eight-year, $28 million deal with Nike, which gives her $3.5 million a year from the shoe company alone. She also has deals with insurance agency State Farm, in which she appears in nationwide commercials, HyVee, Gatorade, Wilson, Gainbridge, Xfinity and Buick. While the specific numbers of those deals are unknown, she likely brings in millions from those deals, as well.
So, Clark will be taking some much-needed time off, spending time training in Indianapolis, visiting family in Iowa and going on vacation. She’s already made some appearances in Indianapolis, attending an open practice for Butler men’s basketball (where her boyfriend, Connor McCaffery, is an assistant coach), and going to the Colts-Steelers game at Lucas Oil Stadium.
“It’s gonna be nice, I think,” Clark said, “Getting out of the spotlight and just getting to live my life and do things that I want to do.”
More: What’s next for Caitlin Clark? ‘I’m just scratching the surface,’ but also some golf.
Clark will still make some appearances throughout the offseason, too. She and the Iowa women’s basketball team are scheduled to be honored for their run to the national championship game at the Hawkeyes’ Oct. 26 football game in Iowa City. As part of her Gainbridge sponsorship, Clark will be a panelist for the Women’s Leadership Summit next month in Belleair, Florida, as well as participate in the LPGA Pro-Am with fellow Gainbridge ambassador Annika Sorenstam.
With multiple other sponsorship opportunities, Clark will likely be busy throughout the seven-month offseason — even without playing organized basketball.
This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: Caitlin Clark: Why Fever star isn’t playing overseas or in 3×3 leagues
