It’s no secret that Caitlin Clark has had a significant impact on the WNBA, having made it relevant to millions more fans after becoming the No. 1 overall pick earlier this year.
But finance expert Dr. Ryan Brewer has described the financial effects of having her in the league as “staggering.”
Brewer, a respected valuation guru, has done some research on Clark and her profitability where the WNBA is concerned and was shocked to find that he may have gone about the whole thing wrongly.
The money expert, an associate professor of finance at Indiana University Columbus, has been summoned to court to give testimony in cases involving sports property and has done extensive work across youth, college, and professional sports. But he thought he made an error when he got down to crunching the numbers for Caitlin and had to repeat his calculations several times before realizing how much of a money magnet the Indiana Fever guard actually is.
“The numbers are so staggering,” he said. “They don’t even seem real.”
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Brewer’s calculations have determined that the former Iowa star is responsible for 26.5 percent of the league’s activity last season, which includes attendance, merchandise sales, and television.
One out of every six tickets sold at a WNBA arena in 2024 was attributed to Clark.
“Total TV viewership due to Clark is up 300% and 45% of total broadcast value came from Fever games,” the report detailing his findings notes. “The league’s merchandise sales catapulted 500%, with Clark ranking No. 1 followed by the Chicago Sky’s Angel Reese, another rookie.”
Caitlin Clark Has Been Even Bigger For Her New City
Clark has had an even bigger fiscal impact on the city of Indianapolis. According to Brewer, her arrival fostered an economic upturn of over $36 million.
While it’s hardly the $400 million the NBA All-Star game brought to the city, it’s certainly impressive for one player.
“Now, let’s take a breath for a minute and think about this,” the professor remarked. “That’s for one year. We’re talking about one player.”
Sadly, however, Clark will likely never be paid what she’s really worth as a WNBA player. On the other hand, she has secured several lucrative deals that should make this reality easier to accept, including a $28 million partnership she got into with Nike ahead of the release of her signature sneakers.
