Expert: Caitlin Clark generates over a quarter of WNBA revenue despite earning less than $80K.

Ryan Brewer, a finance professor at Indiana University who specializes in valuation, informed the Indy Star that he predicted Caitlin Clark to be responsible for 26.5% of the WNBA's league-wide activity during the 2024 season, encompassing attendance, merchandise sales, and television.

One out of every six tickets sold at a WNBA arena can be traced back to Clark, according to Brewer's estimate.

In 2025, Clark's WNBA salary will be $78,066, which is an increase of $1,531 from her salary in the previous season.

The city of Indianapolis' economy benefits from more than $36 million annually due to Clark's underpaid presence in the WNBA, according to Brewer.

"Brewer told the outlet that the numbers were so overwhelming, they appeared unreal."

The impact of Clark on the WNBA product and earning potential was evident throughout the season, particularly during the playoffs.

While competing with an NFL Sunday, Clark drew a record 1.84 million viewers to her first playoff game against the Connecticut Sun on Sept. 22. She then drew another record audience of 2.54 million viewers for Game 2.

Despite winning both games, Clark and the Indiana Fever were eliminated from the playoffs, sending Clark on a break for the offseason.

The first game between the Aces and Liberty, a rematch of last year's WNBA finals between two of the league's most popular and successful teams, drew an audience of 929,000, ESPN announced. This was 50% less than the Fever's Game 1 against the Sun.

The audience for Game 1 of the Sun-Lynx series was approximately 650,000.

Both of those games have also lagged behind some of Clark's regular season games in terms of viewership. In early September, Clark’s Indiana Fever played in front of a TV audience of 1.26 million viewers, in a game against the Minnesota Lynx that was played at the same time as a Week-1 Friday night NFL game between the Philadelphia Eagles and Green Bay Packers.

On Sept. 19, during his first regular season game against the Washington Mystics, Clark drew a record crowd of 20,711 fans at Capital One Arena.

In her rookie year, Clark led the Fever to become the most-watched team in the WNBA, with 14 of the season's most-watched games featuring the Fever.

In September, Kelsey Mitchell, Clark's teammate and point guard, revealed to reporters that Clark is the reason she receives more attention and has gained more fans.

"Mitchell stated that he believes people wouldn't recognize the increased attention and fans this season without Clark's presence. Although Clark has brought in her own supporters and fans, Mitchell finds it amusing and embraces it because he has always been a reserved and introverted person."

Erica Wheeler, the shooting guard, stated that the team has had to become more resilient to scrutiny due to Clark's presence this season.

"Wheeler stated that all they do with Caitlin Clark is have fun, as she never takes anything seriously. He added that she is truly a kid at heart and that they need to be serious only in certain moments. However, most of the time, they are having fun. Wheeler emphasized that the outside world was trying to get inside their building, but they didn't let it."

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