Caitlin Clarke Effect Nets WNBA $136M as Coaching Carousel Leaves Fever Star in Line for ‘Trailblazer’

The Caitlin Clarke effect is a very real phenomenon.

The term was coined to describe the undeniable economic impact the Indiana Fever star had on women’s basketball, from her college days through the latter years of her career. VNBA Newcomer of the season.

5

The meteoric rise of the No. 1 overall pick brought an unprecedented level of interest in women’s basketball.

Ticket and T-shirt sales, home attendance, social media activity and TV viewership were off the charts last season asSteph Curry women’s basketball” fell for 3 seconds and broke record after record.

According to the new studyDuring the 2024 regular season, the WNBA was able to generate $136 million for sponsors, largely thanks to Clark.

Brands have felt the full benefits ofCaitlin Clark effect”, with 45 percent of the total broadcast value coming from Fever games.

However, the 2024 rookie class as a whole, led by rival Clark Angel Reese and Los Angeles Sparks star Cameron Brink increased their WNBA mentions on digital channels by 571 percent.

TikTok saw a 470 percent increase in user engagement per post compared to 2023.

Additionally, a much higher percentage of WNBA fans consistently engage with team-owned content compared to NBA team followers. For example, on TikTok, the average number of interactions per 1,000 followers is 17.07 for the NBA and 272.24 for the WNBA.

Total media value across all team social accounts increased by $49 million due to increased engagement.

The three brands gaining the most value on social media for the 2024 WNBA season are: Nike (more than $30 million), AT&T ($12 million) and Michelob Ultra ($9.3 million)

In addition, national television audiences increased by 60 percent for ABC, 47 percent for CBS and 156 percent for ESPN.

5

5

This occurs against the background of a change in Fever.

They recently announced that they have parted ways with head coach Christy Sides.

The Sides went 33-47 in her two seasons with the team and went 20-20 this season as she led the Fever to the playoffs for the first time in eight years.

However, Clark and Feaver were eliminated from the WNBA postseason in the first round against the Connecticut Sun – and are now closely linked to the Sun’s recently departed head coach, Stephanie White.

2023 WNBA Coach of the Year Raised in Indiana, Won NCAA Purdue championship, played for the Fever and previously led the way at Indy in 2015 and 2016.

The former coach joined Connecticut in 2023 after five years at the helm at Vanderbilt and led the Sun to back-to-back WNBA semifinals.

5

Fever franchise face Clark was recently asked about White, who also works as an ESPN analyst and has covered numerous Hawkeyes games.

“She obviously commentated on a lot of my games throughout college, and I think she has a really great basketball mind,” Clark said.

“I think she did a great job organizing college games and it was great to see her at NBA games. I think what she did was just, she was obviously a trailblazer, to be honest. I think she’s one of the people who supported my game.” and I had fun talking to her at shootarounds throughout my college career and she was always very supportive.

“Yeah, so I think the most important thing is that it’s fun for me to meet her here and now for the first time since she leveled a lot of my games. Now I can play against her, so it will be a lot of fun for both of us.”

5

White’s appointment will be the latest in the WNBA coaching carousel.

Seven teams in the league currently do not have coaches.

With White’s firing, the Sun became the seventh team to change coaches this offseason, joining Dallas, Atlanta, Chicago, Washington, Los Angeles and Indiana.

The new WNBA season will begin in May 2025 and the regular season could be expanded to 44 games.

Before that, the top 30 W players will compete in a new three-on-three professional basketball league called Unrivaled.

The project, led by 2024 WNBA Finals contenders Brianna Stewart and Napheesa Collier, is set to begin in Miami in January and will feature six teams over eight weeks, including playoffs.

The $100 million league backed by TNT Sports, which has already signed stars like Reese, Brittany Griner and Kelsey Plum, is rumored to be pulling out all the stops for Clark.

League chiefs are preparing a Lionel Messi-style deal to bring in Clarke. although she has not yet revealed whether she will fill the last remaining slot.