WNBA needs Caitlin Clark more than she needs the league, Dan Patrick says

Longtime sportscaster Dan Patrick said the WNBA has turned on Caitlin Clark amid contentious collective bargaining agreement negotiations. 

Minnesota Lynx star Napheesa Collier revealed that, in a private conversation she had with WNBA Commissioner Cathy Engelbert, that Engelbert said Clark should be thankful that the league gave her the platform to make $16 million off the court. 

Patrick said the WNBA needs Caitlin Clark more than she needs the WNBA. 

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Indiana Fever guard Caitlin Clark (22) walks onto the floor before a game against the Phoenix Mercury at PHX Arena in Phoenix, Arizona, on Sept. 2, 2025. (Rick Scuteri/Imagn Images)

“Are they going to make $300,000? Maybe someday, but Caitlin Clark shouldn’t make $78,000 a year and then be thankful that she gets to make $16 million off the court. The WNBA needs Caitlin Clark; Caitlin Clark does not need the WNBA,” Patrick said during a recent appearance on OutKick’s “Don’t @ Me with Dan Dakich.”

“It feels like the WNBA turned on Caitlin Clark. Now they’re turning to Caitlin Clark to say, ‘Hey, you know what, we need her. Hey, this private conversation I had with the commissioner, the commissioner said Caitlin should be thankful. Everybody should get down on their knees because the amount of money.’”

Patrick said the negotiations between the WNBA and the players are getting “dirty.”

The 69-year-old said he was a “little surprised” Engelbert brought up Clark in her conversation with Collier, because Clark and Collier share the same agent. 

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Indiana Fever guard Caitlin Clark signs autographs before Game 3 of a WNBA basketball semifinal playoff series against the Las Vegas Aces in Indianapolis, on Sept. 26, 2025. (Darron Cummings/AP Photo)

Engelbert denied making the comments about Clark in a press conference last week. 

“Obviously, I did not make those comments. Caitlin has been a transformational player in this league. She’s been a great representative of the game. She’s brought in tens of millions of new fans to the game,” Engelbert said. 

Patrick called Engelbert a bright woman and pointed out some of the positive things she has done. 

“This commissioner has done some positive things. They have five new expansion teams coming up, they got a TV deal, so there’s some positives there,” Patrick said. 

The pressure on Engelbert has mounted as the negotiations have grown more contentious. 

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Philadelphia Eagles owner Jeffrey Lurie, right, holds the Lombardi Trophy with commentator Dan Patrick, left, after the Eagles defeated the New England Patriots 41-33 in Super Bowl LII at U.S. Bank Stadium in Minneapolis, Minnesota, on Feb. 4, 2018. (Focus on Sport/Getty Images)

The players’ association and the WNBA agreed to an eight-year deal in 2020, but last year the WNBPA voted to opt out of the agreement early. 

The current agreement is due to expire Oct. 31. 

Patrick worked for ESPN from 1989–2006, and then NBC Sports in 2008 and stayed there until 2018. He now hosts “The Dan Patrick Show.” Patrick’s full interview with Dakich will air on OutKick on Friday. 

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