Shaquille O’Neal suggests big change to women’s basketball to increase Caitlin Clark’s pay

Caitlin Clark has enjoyed a stellar first season in the WNBA, but her wages remain dubious.

NBA legend Shaquille O’Neal has devised a controversial new plan to benefit women’s basketball players like Caitlin Clark. The Indiana Fever star has taken the WNBA by storm in her debut season, notching records galore and earning herself the Rookie of the Year award.

However, despite being elevated to superstardom, her wage remains meagre when compared to her male counterparts

In contrast, Golden State Warriors star guard Stephen Curry made just short of £43million. And now O’Neal, a four-time NBA champion, has argued there is an obvious way to increase the market value of the woman’s game.

“I have a solution for that….nobody’s gonna like my solution, a lot of people are people gonna comment, they are going to hate this, but there’s only one thing missing,” he told the Unapologetically Angel podcast. The LA Lakers icon then suggested the rims should be lowered in the WNBA.

A similar notion is used in beach volleyball, with the net lower for females. And the 52-year-old added: “It’s about seeing stuff you ain’t supposed to see. Why do you think people love Caitlin Clark? Besides her skills?”

O’Neal was speaking to WNBA star Angel Reese. (Image: Getty)

The podcast host, Angel Reese, has herself made waves in her rookie season with the Chicago Sky. She has already publicly voiced her disdain at female pay in basketball and was unimpressed with O’Neal’s idea.

“I really hate it when men say that,” the power forward replied. “People always disrespect women regardless. They are always not going to give us the same value as a man.”

O’Neal did also point to the difference in standards between men and women, and claimed that some matches in the WNBA resembled ‘high school’ affairs. But he did then draw a laugh from Reese with a tongue-in-cheek proposal. “Our game is different because we do all the stuff,” he added. “A pretty girl dunking on the rim, I would watch that all day.”

Reese, who has set the league single-season record in rebounds during 2024, has found a way to boost her income in the off-season. She is set to take part in the newly-launched Unrivaled 3-on-3 league, which has promised that each player will make a minimum six-figure salary.

The league, which gets underway in Miami in January, has landed a TV deal with TNT Sports. Clark, who despite her modest wage has reportedly built up a net worth of £2.9million through sponsorship endorsements, has not revealed yet if she’ll take part.