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What is Caitlin Clark's value to WNBA? A huge chunk of its $200-million revenue, expert says

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What is Caitlin Clark's value to WNBA? A huge chunk of its 0-million revenue, expert says

The champagne hadn’t even dried after the New York Liberty won the WNBA championship when the players association announced it would opt out of the league’s collective bargaining agreement, which was set to expire in 2027.

A dramatic increase in revenues due primarily to the emergence of Indiana Fever guard Caitlin Clark and other marquee rookies prompted the players to recognize they aren’t getting what they believe to be a fair share. The CBA now ends after the 2025 season, blowing up a pay scale that set average salaries at about $120,000, with rookie minimums at $64,154 and veteran maximums at $241,984.

Clark’s four-year rookie contract under the CBA was for $338,056 — including $76,535 in 2024 — laughably low numbers given the revenue she helped generate. Clark broke almost every WNBA rookie record, but more impressive was her off-the-court impact.

“The numbers are so staggering,” said Ryan Brewer, associate professor of finance at Indiana University Columbus, who was asked by the Indianapolis Star to put a price tag on Clark. “They don’t even seem real.”

The numbers, as crunched by Brewer:

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  • Clark was responsible for 26.5% of WNBA economic activity for the 2024 season, including attendance, merchandise sales and television. One of every six tickets sold at a WNBA arena can be attributed to Clark.
  • Total WNBA TV viewership due to Clark is up 300%, and 45% of total broadcast value came from Fever games.
  • WNBA merchandise sales rose 500%, with Clark ranking No. 1 followed by Chicago Sky rookie Angel Reese.
  • The Fever’s regular-season attendance averaged a record 17,036 per game, and the team’s total attendance of 340,715 also was a record.
  • Clark’s regular-season games were watched by 1.2 million viewers on average, which was 200% more than games in which she didn’t play.

No wonder the players opted out of the current CBA, with the Women’s National Basketball Players Assn. stating its position succinctly with a video to X that proclaimed, “It’s business. We’re out.”

Fever guard Caitlin Clark (22) drives to the basket against Las Vegas Aces guard Jackie Young (0) during a Sept. 11 game in Indianapolis.

(Darron Cummings / Associated Press)

The WNBA signed a new media rights deal in July worth a reported $200 million a year, more than three times the current package. However, a question that will be raised during CBA negotiations is whether the surge in fan interest and revenue will continue or abate over time.

That’s why the WNBA media rights deal pales in comparison to the NBA’s new TV agreement with Disney (ABC and ESPN), Comcast (NBC and Peacock) and Amazon (Prime Video). Those outlets will air the league’s nationally televised games for 11 seasons beginning in 2025-26 and the NBA will be paid about $76 billion.

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“As this continues to materialize, the corporate side, the business side, not the players union, but the other sides, are going to continue to watch to see that these numbers can stabilize and maintain rather than just spike and drop again,” Brewer said. “That’s what they’re afraid of. And that’s what’s keeping the numbers low.”

Clark, meanwhile, is doing quite well financially despite her low salary. Sportico on Wednesday published a list of the highest paid female athletes, and Clark was ranked No. 10, just behind Simone Biles. Clark, the only basketball player on the list, earned $11.1 million in 2024. (On top of the list for the second year in a row was tennis star Coco Gauff, who made $30.4 million in prize money and endorsements.)

Endorsements make up the bulk of Clark’s income. She gets $3.5 million a year from an eight-year contract with Nike and also has deals with Gatorade, Gainbridge, Hyvee, Xfinity, Wilson, Buick and State Farm Insurance.

WNBA star Caitlin Clark is sitting down while being introduced to the fans during an NBA game between the Suns and Warriors

WNBA star Caitlin Clark is introduced to fans Saturday during an NBA game between the Phoenix Suns and the Golden State Warriors in Phoenix.

(Rick Scuteri / Associated Press)

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Most WNBA players, of course, have only a small fraction of that sort of endorsement income. They must rely on their salaries, which many supplement by playing overseas during the WNBA offseason.

Only 9.3% of league revenues of $200 million in 2024 went to player salaries, according to Bloomberg. That’s less than $20 million. Meanwhile, NBA players share 50% of their league revenue, which in 2023 meant $5.3 billion of $10.6 billion.

Few argue against a larger slice of WNBA revenues going toward player salaries, and precise numbers will be hammered out in CBA negotiations a year from now. Until then, the best evidence players can point to would be continued growth in attendance, TV viewership and merchandise sales.

And Clark’s contribution undoubtedly will remain a major factor.

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U.S. women's soccer team set to face Brazil at SoFi Stadium

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U.S. women's soccer team set to face Brazil at SoFi Stadium

The U.S. women’s soccer team will meet Brazil at SoFi Stadium in an April friendly that will be the first women’s professional sporting event in the four-year-old stadium. The game also will be a rematch of the teams’ Olympic gold-medal game last August in Paris.

The match will be part of a test of the natural-grass carpet system the stadium will use for the 2026 World Cup, when eight games will be played at SoFi. The venue’s artificial Matrix Turf surface will be covered with grass for four games of the CONCACAF Nations League finals March 20 to 23, then will remain in place for the U.S.-Brazil game, which will be played April 5.

The U.S. will meet Brazil again on April 8 at PayPal Park in San José. The Americans, who beat Brazil 1-0 in France to win their fifth Olympic title, are unbeaten in 15 matches under new coach Emma Hayes.

“To play the first-ever women’s professional match at SoFi Stadium is a great honor and one worthy of this team,” Hayes said in a statement. “We’re very much looking forward to spending this trip in California, which has produced so many players for the U.S. women’s national team and so many great moments in our history.”

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Hayes and her team will begin the new year in California, gathering for a training camp Jan. 15 to 21 at Dignity Health Sports Park. The camp will be held side by side with a “Futures” camp, basically an all-star team of up-and-coming youth national team players along with a few top, young NWSL players. Because the camp will not be held during a FIFA international break, the team’s top European-based players will not participate.

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Caitlin Clark trading card sells for $234,850, shattering previous Clark and WNBA record

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Caitlin Clark trading card sells for 4,850, shattering previous Clark and WNBA record

A Caitlin Clark trading card sold at auction for $234,850 on Saturday night — more than doubling the previous all-time record for a Clark or WNBA card of $97,212.54 set in October. The latest record was achieved by Clark’s one-of-a-kind 2024 Panini Select WNBA Gold Vinyl autograph rookie card and was sold by Goldin.

The latest sale is also the second most expensive women’s sports card of all time behind a 2003 NetPro Serena Williams autographed patch card (featuring a piece of one of her match-worn tennis outfits in the card), which sold in 2022 for $266,400.

The massive jump from the previous record for a Clark card to this shows how interest in the reigning WNBA Rookie of the Year’s collectibles still continues to grow, even during the league’s offseason. It also reflects the difference in how different types of cards are valued. The card that sold for $97,212.54 in October was a Panini Instant card (printed to order and sold individually by the manufacturer) made to commemorate Clark winning Rookie of the Year honors. These cards are traditionally less valuable than cards pulled out of packs, like the Panini Select Gold Vinyl card was. And with WNBA trading card rights holder Panini’s flagship product, 2024 WNBA Prizm, still yet to be released, it seems likely that another record could be achieved once the 1/1 autograph card from that product is pulled.

The first of three 2024 WNBA trading card sets didn’t start to hit the market until mid-October, which has been a major contributor to Clark sales records progressing throughout the calendar year. First, one of her college cards set a record in January, then one of her WNBA Draft cards set a record in September, then her Rookie of the Year card in October, and now arguably her most significant pack-pulled WNBA card released to date has topped them all.

GO DEEPER

Answers to the biggest Caitlin Clark trading card questions

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Here are the top five Clark card sales to date:

  1. 2024 Panini Select Signed Gold Vinyl (sold 12/7/24) — $234,850
  2. 2024 Panini Instant Rookie of the Year Blue Viper autographed (sold 10/4/24) — $97,212.54
  3. 2024 Panini Instant WNBA Draft Blue Viper autographed (sold 9/20/24) — $84,000
  4. 2022 Bowman University Autographed Superfractor (sold 1/25/24) — $78,000
  5. 2024 Panini Select Autographed Black Finite (sold 12/1/24) — $52,800

The Athletic maintains full editorial independence in all our coverage. When you click or make purchases through our links, we may earn a commission.

(Top photo: Paras Griffin/Getty Images)

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Fox News Digital Sports' college football winners and losers: Conference championship weekend

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Fox News Digital Sports' college football winners and losers: Conference championship weekend

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The 12-team College Football Playoff bracket was officially revealed on Sunday as the season begins to wind down with the bell ringing in the fight for the national championship.

Conference championship weekend proved out whether teams belong in the playoffs. Clemson surprised SMU with a win in the ACC Championship, which ended up keeping Alabama out of the field. Georgia stunned Texas to win the SEC Championship, earning the Bulldogs a bye into the quarterfinals.

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Boise State also earned a bye into the quarterfinals behind another Heisman Trophy-worthy performance from running back Ashton Jeanty.

So, with the meat of the season finished, who were the winners and losers from the weekend this time? Read below to find out.

Winners

Head coach Dabo Swinney of the Clemson Tigers speaks to his team during the first half of the ACC Championship game at Bank of America Stadium on Dec. 7, 2024, in Charlotte, N.C. (David Jensen/Getty Images)

Clemson: After losing to South Carolina in the regular-season finale, the Tigers needed to beat SMU to clinch a spot in the College Football Playoff. After giving up a double-digit lead in the fourth quarter, Clemson nailed a 56-yard field goal to win the ACC championship. After all the talk of Dabo Swinney not making another CFP run in the near future, he now has his team playing for a national championship. A wild end to the season for Clemson, and they needed a monster FG to finish it off. 

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SMU: A close loss may never feel so good for SMU as it did as their ferocious comeback in the ACC title game made the case for their spot in the College Football Playoff. Now they get a matchup against a Penn State team with a small bump in momentum and a dream.

Oregon: What an introduction to the Big Ten for Oregon. In year 1 in the conference, the Ducks ran a dominate campaign, culminating with a convincing yet competitive victory over conference staple Penn State.

Ashton Jeanty: Did the Boise State running back solidify the Heisman Trophy on Saturday night in the Broncos’ Mountain West Conference victory? The winner will be announced later this week, and Jeanty or Colorado’s Travis Hunter are expected to be the frontrunners to win the prestigious award. Jeanty, though, had his sixth 200-yard rushing game with 209 on 32 carries with one touchdown in the 21-7 win over UNLV. Jeanty finished the regular season with 2,497 yards on 344 carries (7.3 per carry) in one of the most impressive seasons for a running back in college football history.

Ashton Jeanty stiff arms

Boise State running back Ashton Jeanty pushes away from the arms of UNLV defensive lineman Tatuo Martinson on a run in the first half of the Mountain West Championship NCAA college football game, Dec. 6, 2024, in Boise, Idaho. (AP Photo/Steve Conner)

Cam Skattebo: Never doubt the Arizona State running back’s confidence after he helped lead the Sun Devils to a Big 12 title on Saturday night. Skattebo had 170 yards on 16 carries with two touchdowns in ASU’s beatdown of the Cyclones, which capped an impressive season for him. He had 1,398 rushing yards with 19 rushing touchdowns during the regular season, and there will be a national title to fight for as the Sun Devils get a bye as the No. 4 seed.

Timothée Chalamet: College football fans were not pleased with ESPN’s decision to host Hollywood A-list actor Timothée Chalamet as the special guest picker on “College GameDay” for conference championship weekend. But the “Dune” actor left those same fans speechless with his seemingly expert analysis, leaving even his co-hosts for the day in awe. For what it’s worth, he was the only one to predict Ohio’s 38–3 rout over Miami-Ohio.

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Losers

Alabama: The College Football Playoff committee decided that wins outweighed strength of schedule when giving SMU a spot in the playoffs over Alabama on Sunday. The Mustangs lost to Clemson on the final play of the ACC championship game, but the Crimson Tide’s losses to ​​Vanderbilt, Tennessee and Oklahoma proved to be too costly. Penn State is set to host the Mustangs in the first round.

Texas: Look, I know that Quinn Ewers passed for over 350 yards against Georgia in the SEC title game, but those two interceptions were brutal. The biggest win of the regular season came against Texas A&M, and while their defense is good enough to help lead this team to a playoff win, the offense is also hit-and-miss. Even when Carson Beck was injured before halftime, the Longhorns could not take advantage of a wounded Dawgs team. It’s going to be fascinating to see if Steve Sarkisian gets Arch Manning more involved when the playoff begins.

Iowa State: Just when you thought Matt Campbell could lead this Iowa State team to a Big 12 title and get over the hump, they ran into Arizona State in the championship game. Not only that, the defense was abysmal, losing by 26 points in a game that was over by the third quarter. They had a shot at the playoff but will now be bowling somewhere, most likely in warm weather, but obviously not for a national championship. A missed opportunity for the Cyclones.

UNLV: UNLV was heavy underdogs against Boise State in the Mountain West championship. It appeared UNLV went through the motions of a Boise State blowout for much of the first half, then took an opening to make the score a bit more cosmetic when Boise State took its foot off the gas.

Carson Beck in 2024

Georgia Bulldogs quarterback Carson Beck (Dale Zanine-Imagn Images/File)

Carson Beck’s draft stock: Would the Bulldogs have won the SEC Championship over Texas with Beck quarterbacking in the second half? Beck was hurt on the final play of the first half, which was supposed to be a Hail Mary, but his arm was hit while attempting to make the throw, and he went down in immediate pain. Then, his backup, Gunner Stockton, sent a jolt of life into the Bulldogs’ offense, which eventually scored the game-winning touchdown in overtime to seal the victory. Beck was 7-of-13 for 56 yards, though he does have time to rest up to be ready for the quarterfinals of the College Football Playoff, where Georgia is the No. 2 seed.

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The Fox News Digital Sports college football winners and losers were compiled by the Fox News Digital Sports staff and the OutKick.com staff.

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