Wrenched – Nefarious – Business – Attitude. Should the league, now ‘celebrating’ its 30th year of existence, be looking for a new marketing slogan, they are welcome to use this one. No charge. It fits them well!
Showman P.T. Barnum is credited with saying, “There is no such thing as bad publicity.” The rationale being that any attention, whether positive or negative, can be of benefit by increasing visibility and public awareness. At least in the latest incident involving the league’s desire to be relevant at the arrival of cash cow Caitlin Clark, publicity has come its way.
Two weeks ago, in the continuing jealousy saga of the league’s players over the fan attention being paid to Clark, the Phoenix Mercury’s Alyssa Thomas became the latest vigilante to lay bounty on the Indiana Fever star. As the two players were going after a loose ball, Thomas delivered a knee to the groin, followed by a closed fist to the throat as the ball rolled away from both of them. While lying on the court in pain, no foul was called against Thomas despite howls from the Indiana bench and the capacity crowd watching.
While the refs had turned a blind eye and a deaf ear to what had taken place, the league could not escape the cascading voices of protest from the public and the media. Two days later, the WNBA issued a statement suspending Thomas for one game, accompanied by a $1,000 fine. Sadly, this is just one of the many instances where Clark has been targeted by rough to violent fouls during her brief tenure in the league.
American sports fans love a good story. They love the underdog. They also take a measure of pleasure in seeing the top dog knocked from its perch. Caitlin Clark is all of this. To her adoring fans, she is Americana, a small-town girl who stayed home to play for the local college team while setting scoring records long held by others. To her detractors, she can be cocky, a showboat with dramatic gestures visible to all when things don’t go her way.
She is also immensely talented, popular, straight, and white — all of which may not blend well playing in a league comprised of players with contrasting lifestyle persuasions.
Clark’s arrival from the University of Iowa, where she established scoring records and a legion of fans, hasn’t just made headlines for the WNBA; it has transformed the league’s financial and cultural future. Since joining the Fever in 2024, she has sparked record attendance, media coverage, and revenue growth, helping push the league’s value towards an unprecedented $1.27 billion.
But instead of taking on the philosophy of “a rising tide lifts all ships’, the league and many of its players have instead taken to “killing the goose that laid the golden egg.” They don’t like her, are jealous of her, and take every opportunity to inflict physical harm.
Clark’s arrival has had a transformative financial and structural impact on the league, benefiting all players – not just her.
Higher collective earnings via revenue sharing – The WNBA’s player union receives 50% of all league-wide jersey sales, which are then distributed evenly among all union members. Clark’s record jersey sales have boosted the entire league’s merchandise revenue.
League-wide revenue growth – Clark’s popularity has driven record attendance, merchandise sales, and TV ratings, contributing over 25% of the WNBA’s economic activity.
New salary cap and rookie pay floor – Clark commercial success was a key factor in the WNBA’s 2026 CBA, raising the salary cap from $1.5 M to $7M and set a $500,000 rookie salary floor.
Increased commercial opportunities – Clark’s endorsement deals with Nike and Gatorade, plus her All-Star capacity, have elevated the league’s brand value, including a media rights deal of a record $2.2B.
Her arrival and immense popularity also forced the league to provide private plane charters for all teams. Prior to Clark, all teams were using commercial flights.
How is the NBA showing its gratitude?
Recently, the league released a poster commemorating its 30th season. The poster included pictures of 30 league players. In two short years, Clark has done more for the league than most — yet her likeness was not among those players. However, included was Angel Reese, a Clark antagonist since their college days.
The WNBA has allies in the USA Basketball Women’s National Team Committee, which snubbed Clark from being selected to the recent Women’s Olympic team. Since then, reports have emerged regarding the Committee’s reasoning for its decision. It seems the Committee was concerned about how Clark’s millions of fans would react to what would likely be limited playing time on a stacked roster — and they didn’t want to deal with that.
Like it or not, Caitlin Clark has become the face of the WNBA. Despite the league’s reaction and the players’ animosity towards her, she is taking the league to heights it heretofore couldn’t imagine.
There have been voices suggesting that Clark should leave the WNBA and take her talents to Europe, where she would be treated like royalty. While no one player makes a league, should that ever happen, the WNBA could return to the irrelevant stature it held before her arrival.
