MW WNBA star Caitlin Clark reveals the $10 luxury she won't pay for: 'I'm a little cheap'

By Weston Blasi

Many highly paid athletes, including LeBron James, admit to having some pretty frugal behaviors

Caitlin Clark has joined a growing list of millionaire athletes who are calling themselves "cheap."

The Indiana Fever star said Sunday that she planned to watch Game 7 of the NBA Finals that night between the Indiana Pacers and the Oklahoma City Thunder, but noted that she might be on a flight to Seattle for her WNBA team's next game - so she'd need internet access while in the air.

The only problem: Clark doesn't like paying for wifi.

"I think we're going to be in the air," Clark said before her game against the Las Vegas Aces last Sunday. "We fly Delta $(DAL)$ and sometimes they have the screens on the back of the plane, but sometimes they don't.

"So, I'm hoping for the ones with the screens on the back of the chairs, so I don't have to pay for wifi. I'm a little cheap," she added.

The Pacers ended up losing to the Thunder.

So how much would the wifi have set Clark back? A one-hour wifi pass on most domestic flights costs under $10, but may vary based on length of flight and airline.

Clark - who reportedly has an eight-year, $28 million shoe contract with Nike $(NKE)$ - joins the growing list of well-paid professional athletes who have publicly stated they refuse to spend on some of life's little luxuries, despite having the means to do so.

Some MLB players, who are frequent flyers due to their 162-game season, have complained that their teams don't offer free wifi on flights. Players for the New York Yankees, the most valuable franchise in baseball, have stated they didn't love having to shell out money for internet access while airborne. "I didn't pay for it, on principle," former Yankees pitcher Jameson Taillon told Sports Illustrated in 2023.

In a recent conversation with MarketWatch, Los Angeles Lakers guard Austin Reaves admitted that he refuses to pay an extra $6 a month to upgrade his Apple Music $(AAPL)$ account. Reaves said that after he signed a $54 million contract, he didn't buy a house nor a car, like you might expect after a big payday, but simply treated himself to a new set of golf clubs instead.

Reaves added that he admires his teammate LeBron James's well-documented frugality.

"LeBron has done very, very well for him and his family. He's very smart with his money, he's not blowing money. He's not cheap, but..." Reaves joked.

James - with a net worth of about $1.2 billion, according to Forbes - has famously said that he refuses to pay for cellphone data when traveling abroad, and still listens to music-streaming services with commercials.

See: NFL star DK Metcalf's advice to the 2023 NFL draft class: 'Start thinking about retirement'

Mets outfielder Brandon Nimmo revealed to MLB.com in 2022 that he drives a 2010 Nissan Altima that doesn't have Bluetooth capability, and still has a CD player. Nimmo, who has signed MLB contracts worth over $178 million, says it "keeps me humble."

Of course, there are also many athletes who splurge. NBA forward Dillion Brooks told MarketWatch last year that he purchased a Rolls Royce Phantom shortly after signing his $86 million contract. Brooks said he was also paying off his mom's mortgage.

See: NBA All-Star Chris Paul on what he looks for in an investment, competing with LeBron James, and his favorite possession

Clark's position may be in line with how some consumers are feeling in the U.S. lately, as many Americans have trimmed their discretionary spending on things like eating out and as well as other forms of retail spending.

Of course, Clark has a much lower base salary than all of the other athletes mentioned in this story: $78,066 a year. Many WNBA players are dissatisfied with the current salary structure of the league, and had their union opt out of the current collective bargaining agreement, which expires at the end of this season.

WNBA players split just 9.3% of the league's revenue. By contrast, NBA players, in aggregate, receive between 49% and 51% of basketball-related income, NFL players get 48% of all revenue and NHL players get 50%.

But in many ways, Clark is a financial unicorn compared to most WNBA players. That's because she has lucrative endorsement deals in addition to her Nike sponsorship, including with State Farm, Gatorade $(PEP)$ and many other brands.

One option for Clark and others who fly frequently is to buy a monthly or annual wifi pass for some airlines - some of which cost $599 annually.

See: WNBA star Angel Reese says of her $73,439 salary: 'Does that even pay my car note?'

-Weston Blasi

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June 28, 2025 09:56 ET (13:56 GMT)

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