Caitlin Clark is singlehandedly keeping the WNBA alive
The ringleader
The allure that Caitlin Clark brings to the table is something that few athletes in any sport have ever approached. The WNBA is fortunate that she's helped raise the profile of the league, but they might be too dependent on the generational star.
Showstopping
The WNBA knew they had a cash cow to bank on from the moment Clark was set to enter the professional ranks. An unprecedented amount of attention was paid to the 2024 WNBA Draft, which was the moment Clark joined the WNBA. Fans couldn’t get enough of the seminal moment for the generational superstar.
Take my money
A similar frenzy ensued in July 2024 as Caitlin Clark’s All-Star jerseys became available on the Indiana Fever team website. Sports Illustrated reported that the inventory of those items was sold out within minutes.
Must-see TV
While the merchandise sale stories are pretty crazy to read about, it’s also pretty fascinating to see how much of an impact Clark had on the WNBA television landscape during her rookie campaign.
Context
Jack Baer of Yahoo Sports did a great job of summarizing the Clark phenomenon from a viewership perspective. During the 2024 regular season, 23 WNBA games amassed more than one million viewers. Clark and the Fever played in 20 of those contests.
Having a moment
The timing could not have been any better for the WNBA. As reported by ESPN and others, the league finalized a media rights deal worth $2.2 billion for 11 seasons, starting in 2026. It was announced in July 2024, right in the middle of Clark’s transcendent rookie campaign.
Stormy second season
Clark was the picture of health as a rookie, but things have not gone as well on that front in year two. The Fever star has missed a large chunk of the season with various leg ailments. The WNBA has largely had to navigate the 2025 campaign without the services of its shining light.
Steep decline
Sportico reported that WNBA All-Star viewership was down 36 percent from 2025 to 2024, which is not what the league signed up for.
Public relations
Sportswriter Christine Brennan was not thrilled about ESPN’s positioning of the 2025 WNBA All-Star Game ratings. She posted on social media, “Why does ESPN PR continue to mislead its followers? The 2025 All-Star Game viewership was not historic. It was a huge drop from last year.”
Cooler ticket
When it became clear that Clark wasn’t going to suit up for the All-Star Game, ticket prices dropped roughly 50 percent, according to data from TickPick.
Concerning data
It has to be at least somewhat worrying for the WNBA that ticket prices were cut essentially in half without Clark in the lineup. One way to digest that information is that fans were not compelled to see anyone else anywhere near as much as they wanted to see Clark. That’s an issue considering the WNBA All-Star Game features the best the league has to offer.
Timeline
This is a critical juncture in the history of the WNBA. The league announced that they are going to expand to 18 teams by 2030, and a lot of that momentum was driven by the attention that Clark drove to the sport. If her injury woes continue to this extent in the future, it could interrupt the projections the league had for itself for the remainder of the decade.
Replication
Clark is one of one, so it’s difficult to expect anyone else to play with the level of skill and ability that she has. There will undoubtedly be other generational prospects to come in the future, but Clark stands alone without any real peers.
