Caitlin Clark to have significant impact on WNBA's exposure, media rights expert says

Caitlin Clark ranks among the top athletes on On3 Sports' NIL valuation list, which assigns a dollar amount based on the player's name, image and likeness and roster value. 

Clark's NIL valuation is $3.1 million, according to On3. And though it's not a tracker of the NIL deals she's made in her college career, she may end up making less annually just playing in the WNBA with the potential to earn more through lucrative endorsement deals.

The NCAA's all-time leading scorer could have opted to stay with the Hawkeyes for another year; she had a fifth year of eligibility, but she's decided to go pro.

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Iowa star Caitlin Clark (Jeffrey Becker-USA TODAY Sports)

Some may wonder why Clark could be throwing away all that NIL money for a lower salary as a pro. But that actually may not be the case.

Michael Schreck, the co-founder of the Collegiate Sports Management Group, has negotiated media rights deals between several leagues and plenty of sporting events from the NFL to the Masters.

An expert in the field and a self-proclaimed college hoops aficionado, Schreck says the leverage and impact Clark will have on putting women's basketball on the map is astronomical, so orgoing her NIL money really isn't a risk at all.

"She's transcending sports right now, and not just women's sports. The amount of leverage she's going to bring wherever she goes. …" Schreck said in a recent interview with Fox News Digital. "She's literally put women's basketball, women's sports, at another level. … Yes, she's making a killing in NIL right now, but the reality is that all those brands are going to sign her long term with her new WNBA deal.

"The sky is the limit, and it's the appropriate time."

Caitlin Clark (G Fiume/Getty Images)

CAITLIN CLARK STILL HAS MAJOR GOALS AHEAD AFTER HISTORIC REGULAR SEASON

"All the media money, if they redo the CBA for the WNBA, she's going to give the WNBA Players Association more leverage to negotiate than anybody else has ever," Schreck added. "A once-in-a-generation player, their version of LeBron [James] or Steph Curry has arrived. It's going to carry them to the next piece of it. If you don't think they're going to use her to leverage the next media rights negotiation, you're crazy."

Caitlin Clark (Julia Hansen / USA TODAY NETWORK)

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Clark's Hawkeyes begin the Big Ten tournament this Friday before they look for their first national championship in school history.

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