LPGA vs WNBA: Comparing Nelly Korda's golf earnings vs Caitlin Clark's WNBA contract
Two ladies are dominating women's sports right now: Nelly Korda and Caitlin Clark. Korda is on an outrageous run in professional golf, winning five in a row including a Major championship. Clark cemented herself as arguably the greatest women's college basketball player of all time with an epic career and a final run to the championship. They're drawing eyes to their sports like few before them.
Naturally, that comes with a lot of money. Nelly Korda is perhaps the most marketable and profitable star in women's golf. Clark, who racked up NIL during her time in college, quickly became the face of the sport.
That has resulted in a lot of money for both players. Golf payments work differently compared to WNBA contracts, but Korda has thus far earned $2,424,216 in 2024. Comparatively, Clark will be paid about $76,000 in her first season and $338,000 over the life of her first contract.
Korda also has room to earn more. Whether or not she continues winning every tournament on the LPGA Tour, as long as she makes the cut, she will earn a paycheck every time and grow that $2.4 million figure.
No matter what Caitlin Clark does on the court, her salary is fixed. She can't get any more money from the Indiana Fever. She can, and has, earned money from other places, like from her $28 million shoe deal with Nike.
Nelly Korda and Caitlin Clark are carrying women's sports
As both Nelly Korda and Caitlin Clark grow the profile of themselves and their respective sports, they bring an audience that might not have been there before. Korda's impressive and historic run has more eyes on the LPGA Tour now. Clark's dominance got more people to watch the women's NCAA tournament than the men's.
All of this even got Paige Spiranac to shout out both of them. She said (via the Daily Mail):
"Caitlin Clark, Nelly Korda and so many more! What a time for women's sports!" she applauded.
Korda recently opened up on the problems facing women's sports. While the women's basketball game has gotten more recognition thanks to its stars and its current increased visibility, women's golf remains on the back burner.
Korda recently touched on this issue plaguing women's golf (via SB Nation):
“We need a stage. We need to be on primetime TV, and we need to showcase the talent we have out here, which is a lot. We need the support from not just the crowds but the television networks.”
Caitlin Clark's dominance forced the networks to pay attention and it has paid massive dividends for the sport, although Clark isn't the sole contributor to its growth.
Korda's run of victories is doing that for fans, but it hasn't quite translated to those networks yet. The Chevron Championship did get a lot of coverage, but it still paled in comparison to the RBC Heritage on the PGA Tour.
There will likely always be a disparity there, but Nelly Korda is trying to will her sport to relevancy and has called on networks and people to help her do it.