Should The WNBA’s Players Association Change Draft Eligibility Rules That Kept Angel Reese And Caitlin Clark Out Of The Draft?

You may have noticed some big names missing from the recent WNBA draft. Players like Angel Reese and Caitlin Clark were ineligible for this year’s draft, despite their stellar seasons.

Men can enter the NBA draft at 19. You may remember that Kobe Bryant and LeBron James were both drafted right out of high school. The WNBA requires that college players turn 22 years old during the calendar year of the draft, or have completed a four-year degree, or will graduate within three months of the draft, or have gone to a four-year school where their original class would have graduated or will graduate within three months of the draft.

Reese is 20 years old and a sophomore, and Clark is 21 and a junior.

The rules for the draft are set by the WNBA Players Association.

Given the success of some of the NCAA’s young players this year, many fans are calling for the WNBPA to reconsider its rules. Coaches and front office personnel won’t comment on the rules because the rules fall under the Players Association’s Collective Bargaining Agreement. The WNBPA did not respond to my outreach.

Unlike men who enter the NBA making millions of dollars (2021 #1 draft pick Cade Cunningham made over $10 million in his first season), WNBA players earn considerably less. The average WNBA salary in 2021 was $120,648, and only 14 players made over $200,000. Aliyah Boston, this year’s number 1 draft pick, will earn $74,305 in base salary.

For many top players, the NCAA’s Name, Image, and Likeness (NIL) rule allows them opportunity to earn more income as college athletes than professional basketball players. As of April 16, 2023 NCAA women’s tournament Outstanding Player Angel Reese has a valuation of $1.2 million, according to On3. On3 sets college athletes’ projected annual value through NIL by factoring performance, influence, and exposure. Reese has the highest valuation of any woman NCAA basketball player. She has 3.6 million social media followers and more deals than any other NCAA basketball player on the men’s or women’s side, signing with major corporations like McDonald’s, Bose, and Xfinity.

Caitlin Clark’s NIL value according to On3 is $830,000. She’s signed with Nike, Topps, and Buick, among others. Cavinder twins Haley and Hanna who are second only to Reese in valuation have decided to leave college basketball after four years, forgoing their extra Covid season, after helping lead Miami to the Elite Eight in 2023. They have hinted they may be looking at starting careers in the WWE.

No doubt, the current WNBA draft rules were put in place to protect young women, especially when league salaries were even lower than they are now. While the rules were not a part of CBA negotiations in 2020, they may well be on the table when it’s time for negotiations for the 2026 CBA. Certainly, following this year’s outstanding play by Reese and Clark, among others, the topic is on the Players Association’s radar.

The real issue is one of self-direction and choice for college players. If young men at 19 can make the decision to enter the NBA draft, certainly young women are just as capable of making choices about their own careers. Veteran NCAA women’s basketball sportscaster Brenda VanLengen told me, “It may be time for the rules to evolve to give young women more choices based upon what they think is best for their careers.”

Of course, right now, many of these young women are making more money as college players with NIL opportunities than they would in the WNBA, and so they may not want to leave college early to turn pro. They may even increase their opportunities for NIL revenue in the WNBA by raising their profiles and building their brands for another year or two in college.

The WNBA only has a dozen teams, and each team carries only 12 players on its roster. That means, even after being drafted, players may not make the final roster. To be draft eligible, players have to renounce any remaining college eligibility, and so, if they’re cut not even drafted at all, they can’t go back and play college ball again.

The WNBA doesn’t have the same player development resources as the NBA. With no G League to provide another option, players who leave college early forfeit the development of their game they’d receive on a college team, and they risk ending up on neither a WNBA or NCAA team.

Obviously, league expansion is an important part of this conversation. More teams provide more slots for exceptional players. Right now, getting into the league and then staying there is difficult at best with so few spots on the rosters. Expansion still may not create more opportunities for younger players. Experienced players in the league and players who have used all four years of their college eligibility may fill those spots.

There are a lot of good reasons for women players to use all of their college eligibility before declaring for the draft. Still, players may have their own motivations for wanting to declare early, and their career choices should be their own. When this issue came up in 2021 after Clark’s and UConn’s Paige Bueckers’ stellar first year, WNBA superstar Sue Bird said, “I think players should have a choice, always. Players should always have a choice.”