Ice Cube confirmed a $5 million offer to Iowa women’s basketball star Caitlin Clark to join his BIG3 league on Wednesday (March 27). The Hip-Hop legend said he wanted to keep the offer private throughout the NCAA Tournament but refused to deny TMZ’s report of the proposed deal.
“We intended the offer to remain private while Caitlin Clark plays for the championship,” he wrote on X (formerly known as Twitter). “But I won’t deny what’s now already out there: BIG3 made a historic offer to Caitlin Clark. Why wouldn’t we? Caitlin is a generational athlete who can achieve tremendous success in the BIG3. “
Ice Cube pitched BIG3 as a way for Clark to avoid playing overseas like many WNBA players do to supplement their income. Clark was offered $5 million to play in just eight regular season games – and potentially two playoff games – in the 3-on-3 basketball league.
“The skeptics laughed when we made Nancy Lieberman the first female coach of a men’s pro team, and she won the championship in her first year,” Ice Cube wrote. “Then Lisa Leslie won it all in year two. With our offer, Caitlin Clark can make history and break down even more barriers for women athletes. America’s women athletes should not be forced to spend their off seasons playing in often dismal and dubious foreign countries just to make ends meet.”
He continued, “And they should have more than just one professional option in the US at a time when American pro sports leagues are being infiltrated by autocratic, anti-women regimes such as Qatar. Our pathbreaking offer to Caitlin Clark demonstrates that BIG3 now offers another choice for athletes.”
A BIG3 deal would conflict with Clark’s WNBA aspirations since the schedules overlap. Clark decided to forgo her final year of college eligibility to enter the 2024 WNBA Draft.
Clark is one of the most highly touted players in women’s college basketball history. She will undoubtedly be the No. 1 pick in this year’s WNBA Draft.
