The Indiana Fever are reaping the rewards of their WNBA Commissioner's Cup final win over the Minnesota Lynx on Tuesday night, which includes a sizable chunk of dough along with the everlasting glory.
As the Commissioner's Cup winners, the Fever get $500,000 to be split between the roster ($30,000 per player). They also get $120,000 in cryptocurrency—via the league's partnership with Coinbase—that will also be split evenly.
The Cup winners' financial reward is notably much higher than that of the WNBA champions, a curious point that Fever star Caitlin Clark brought up during her team's postgame celebrations.
Following the Fever's win against the Lynx, Clark sent a simple message to WNBA commissioner Cathy Engelbert:
"You get more for this than you do if you're a champion," Clark said on her teammate's Instagram Live video. "Makes no sense. Someone tell Cathy [Engelbert] to help us out."
“you get more for this than you do if your a champion makes no sense, someone tell Cathy to help us out” caitlin speaking such facts Cathy come on 😭🙏🏼 pic.twitter.com/ETkQ3B5GOt
— #22caitlinthegoat (@ccthegoat22) July 2, 2025
In the WNBA playoffs, the total prize pool is $500,000. But, that amount is split among teams based on how far each team gets in the postseason. The team that goes on to win the league championship will take home roughly $250,000, which makes out to be around $20,000 per player. That's still $10,000 less per player when compared to the Commissioner's Cup winner's rewards.
Clark raises a fair question as to why the five-season-old Commissioner's Cup offers more financial incentive than winning the league itself, something that could be addressed in the WNBA players' union's ongoing collective bargaining agreement negotiations.
More WNBA on Sports Illustrated
This article was originally published on www.si.com as Caitlin Clark Sends Simple Plea to WNBA Commissioner After Winning Her Cup Trophy.
