It's not possible to fully compensate Indiana Fever star Caitlin Clark for what she has meant to the WNBA, her agent, Erin Kane, told ESPN.

"Will Caitlin Clark ever be paid by the WNBA what she's really worth to that league? I don't think that's possible," said Kane, who also represents WNBA Defensive Player of the Year Napheesa Collier, Arike Ogunbowale and a host of other prominent athletes for Excel Sports Management.

"She's part of a larger player body. They all need to be paid more. She should be recognized for what she has done and what she's brought to the league from an economic standpoint. It's as simple as that."

Clark enters her second season with the Fever after breaking the league's assists record as a rookie. She and the rest of a star-studded rookie class helped drive the WNBA's most-watched regular season in 24 years and its highest attendance in more than 20 years.

An economist at Indiana University Columbus interviewed by the Indianapolis Star recently calculated that Clark was responsible for $36 million in economic impact to the city of Indianapolis and almost 27% of the league's economic activity for the 2024 season, including attendance, merchandise sales and television.

Clark's salary is expected to be just over $78,000 for the 2025 season.

WNBA salaries are collectively bargained and range from roughly $64,154 to $241,984 for a player on a supermaximum contract. The Women's National Basketball Players Association opted out of its current CBA last October -- with the prospect of a work stoppage if a new deal isn't reached by the end of the 2025 season. The union said at the time that players are seeking a "business model that reflects their true value, encompassing higher salaries," among other benefits.

"The most important thing always has been getting WNBA players paid for what they do on the court," Kane said. "I'm very, very hopeful for this CBA negotiation that it will be progressive and move the line forward a lot."

Upstart women's league Unrivaled, which wraps up its first season in mid-March, currently pays its players an average salary of more than $220,000, in addition to an equity stake in the league. Kane says she thinks there will be more equity for women athletes in the future "in the leagues that they're continuing to participate in, and play in, and build."

The WNBA last year announced an 11-year media rights deal valued at about $2.2 billion -- or $200 million per year, which is significantly higher than the $60 million the league currently gets.

WNBPA executive director Terri Jackson said last July that the league is being undervalued in the deal, which was negotiated by the NBA, which owns about 60% of the WNBA.

"I think we're ready for a spin-off [from the NBA]," Kane told ESPN. "I just think that the NBA is incentivized to make decisions that are good for the NBA, and those are not always aligned with what's good for the WNBA. And so, for the sake of the league that I work in, I want women and women's basketball to be able to make clean, clear choices that are in their own best interest."