Caitlin Clark’s superstar status has reached a level to the point where one author wonders if she could leave the WNBA and start her own league.
The WNBA has enjoyed a giant surge in attendance and television ratings since Caitlin Clark’s arrival last year. For those who don’t think the 23-year-old is that much of a driver for the league, consider that Clark recently missed five games with a quad injury, and WNBA ratings dropped by 55 percent during her absence.
USA Today columnist Christine Brennan recently completed a book, On Her Game: Caitlin Clark and the Revolution in Women’s Sports, which will be published on July 8. Speaking on ESPN LA, Brennan responded to a question about Clark possibly leaving the WNBA and starting her own basketball league.
Brennan suggested that Clark and Nike would have the money and resources to do just that, noting her sky-high popularity and giant following:
“Nike loves her. She’s got Wilson, obviously. She’s got Gatorade. Even though the salary’s $76,000 for a rookie — it’s more this year now — she’s making $28 million from Nike alone, according to the Wall Street Journal. So she’s at $40 million, whatever. OK, fine, she’s doing great. And if Nike said, ‘We’re going to make the Nike-Clark league,’ it would obviously take a few years to get the arenas and whatever.
But you know the TV contract. I mean, it’s Caitlin. Again, the TV viewership, it’s Caitlin Clark. It’s not Angel [Reese] and Caitlin. It’s Cailtin. It’s Caitlin Clark only. And I think Angel’s a great rebounder and excellent at what she does, but she doesn’t move the needle on TV ratings. It’s Caitlin. And they could do it. I think they could absolutely put it together in a couple of years. And I’ll stay on that because I agree with you. It’s fascinating and it’s doable because of the void in the vacuum of leadership the WNBA continues to exhibit.”
Of course, this is only a hypothetical, and there’s zero indication that Clark wants to leave the WNBA right now. She’s the face of the league, makes a ton of money and competes against the best players in the world, after all.
For now, Clark is focused on her game and helping the struggling Fever emerge as a championship contender. The idea of Clark starting her own league is compelling, but let’s not get ahead of ourselves just yet.
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Caitlin Clark Is Having A Strong Sophomore Year For Fever
Clark has missed seven contests this season due to injury (five with a quad and two with a groin issue), but she’s been a total game-changer on the court. Clark is averaging 18.2 points, 5.0 rebounds and 8.9 assists per game while shooting 39.0 percent from the field.
