Caitlin Clark leaves door open for Unrivaled league, elects to keep fans waiting with noncommittal stance: "See if I want to play eventually"

Indiana Fever superstar Caitlin Clark has left her millions of fans guessing about her potential participation in the 3x3 Unrivaled basketball league. With its inaugural season scheduled for January 2025, the league’s co-founder Napheesa Collier and president Alex Bazzell have been making strong efforts to recruit Clark.

Despite multiple recruitment efforts by Collier and Bazzell, reigning WNBA Rookie of the Year has remained noncommittal about joining the Unrivaled league. On Monday, Clark attended Fever coach Stephanie White's introductory press conference alongside teammates Aliyah Boston and Lexie Hull, both of whom have already committed to play in the Unrivaled league.

While Clark refrained from giving a definitive answer about her participation in the 3x3 league, she did leave the possibility open, signaling she’s still considering her options.

"We'll see," Clark told ESPN's Michael Voepel. "I don't know. Just taking it as it goes ... see if I want to play eventually."

With 30 out of the 36 player spots already filled for the inaugural season of the Unrivaled league, only six spots remain open. Collier and Bazzell are hopeful that Caitlin Clark will decide to claim one of these final slots.

"We're always going to have a roster spot for Caitlin Clark," Bazzell recently told Sportico. "We're not applying a full-court press the way people think. We are letting her decompress from basketball. ... She knows that we have a spot for her when she's ready."

Napheesa Collier confirms Unrivaled league ready to pay Caitlin Clark huge money

In her rookie season, Caitlin Clark earned a base salary of $76,535, which many feel didn’t reflect the immense attention she brought to the league or her significant role in expanding the WNBA's global reach.

Unrivaled league co-founder Napheesa Collier has expressed a strong desire to fairly compensate Clark, confirming that the league will offer a considerably higher salary than she received as a WNBA rookie.

"I can't give numbers, obviously, but I can tell you (it's) substantially more than what she's making in the WNBA," Collier shared on "Podcast P with Paul George" when asked about what Clark’s salary would be in the Unrivaled league.

"I do think she needs to be paid fairly, and we would be offering her a fair compensation for what she's doing. That's all I can tell you."

Previously, Michael McCarthy of Front Office Sports reported that the Unrivaled league is gearing up to offer Clark a deal on par with the one Argentine soccer icon Lionel Messi received when he joined MLS.