Caitlin Clark's impact on the WNBA could eclipse 'a billion dollars'

Since Caitlin Clark entered the WNBA, sales and interest have skyrocketed. This season, her impact on the league could eclipse $1 billion.

When the WNBA returned to action last week, Ryan Brewer, like many who follow the league, was curious to see how Indiana Fever star Caitlin Clark might top her rookie-of-the-year season.

Yet the interest of Brewer, an associate professor of finance at Indiana University Columbus and an expert at valuations, goes beyond Clark’s box-score averages. After Clark’s phenomenal popularity spiked attendance and merchandise sales and drew historic television ratings wherever the Fever played in 2024, Brewer was asked by the Indianapolis Star to evaluate her economic impact on the WNBA. He determined Clark was responsible for a staggering 26.5% of all WNBA economic activity last season, including revenue from merchandise, ticket sales and television.

When Brewer crunched the numbers to analyze her potential impact in 2025, he arrived at a valuation that “is quite impressive,” Brewer said.

“If things just go as they were, and we have an expanded season of 22 home games with modest inflation, I’m looking at $875 [million],” Brewer told NBC News. “And I could easily see that eclipsing a billion dollars on the economic impact of Caitlin Clark this year.”

The WNBA’s 29th season opens at a time when its basketball is impossible to untangle from its bottom line. And Clark has played a propulsive role in both.