The 'Today' co-anchor can't help launching into a rant on her morning show after learning of the former Iowa Hawkeyes player's first-year salary as a professional basketball player.
- Apr 17, 2024
AceShowbiz - Caitlin Clark's WNBA salary doesn't sit well with Hoda Kotb, who didn't hesitate to express her feelings on her TV show. The "Today" co-host went into a lengthy rant in the Tuesday, April 16 episode of the morning show after learning of the former college basketball player's first-year salary as a professional basketball player.
"For somebody who is now the face of women's basketball, it seemed kind of ridiculous," Hoda said on the show, comparing Caitlin's four-year contract with the Indiana Fever for $338,000, whereas the top pick in the 2023 NBA draft, Victor Wembanyama, landed a $55 million deal.
"There's just something about this that's so disturbing," the journalist said about the pay disparity. "I mean, I picture all the little girls with signs that say, 'Caitlin!' but this is what her contract is worth?" Hoda's co-anchor Savannah Guthrie chimed in to say, "Hopefully the payday is coming, too."
But Hoda didn't stop there. On "Today with Hoda & Jenna" later Tuesday morning, she said in a discussion with her co-host Jenna Bush Hager, "I was like, 'Ah! What's she gonna get paid?' Because finally, you can get a real paycheck, and then I saw it, and I was like, 'This can't be right.' "
Hoda read Caitlin's starting salary of $76,535 and further expressed her frustration, "So this is what the No. 1 player, who's now at the WNBA, [is earning]?" Jenna agreed as saying, "Honestly, the gap is so jarring. The discrepancy when we're talking about equal pay? That ain't even close!"
Hoda pointed out that the significant gap is "like picking at an old scab for many women," including herself. "Sitting for many years next to co-anchors over the years and not knowing what anyone got paid and then discovering that you're making like a tiny fraction of what the guy was making next to you," she shared.
Hoda then tried to calm herself by playing Taylor Swift's song "The Man" before singing the lyrics, " 'Cause if I was a man, then I'd be the man." Jenna jokingly warned, "When you make Hoda mad, you never know who's gonna come out." Concluding her rant, Hoba later ended the segment by putting her hands in a prayer position and saying, "Namaste."
