Caitlin Clark isn’t just a star. WNBA commissioner Cathy Engelbert made that clear recently, calling her “the most popular athlete in America” and a “generational talent” who brought tens of millions of new viewers to the league. Well, numbers don’t lie. The 2024 draft featuring Clark drew 2.4 million viewers; this year, it dropped to 1.25 million. The 2024 All-Star Game peaked at 3.4 million, but with her out, it fell to 2.2 million. Beyond ratings, Clark moves merchandise, fills arenas, and has that Midas touch. The WNBA is still thriving, breaking attendance records thanks to a 44-game schedule, but let’s face it: without Clark on the floor, a lot of eyes are elsewhere.

Now, with a gut-wrenching tweet, Clark drew curtains on her 2025 season. Her sophomore season was marred by four back-to-back injuries. With your lead attraction sitting on the bench, what does this mean for the Indiana Fever and the whole league? According to one WNBA analyst, nothing good.

In her latest YouTube video, Rachel DeMita pointed out the sharp decline in viewership since Clark got injured. According to her, LeBron James and Travis Kelce have lesser influence over their leagues as compared to the Fever guard in the WNBA. “When Caitlin Clark went out with injury in the beginning of the season, the viewership dropped over 50 percent leaguewide… Please tell me any other player in any other sport when they’re announced out for two weeks leaguewide [viewership] 50 percent is down. LeBron doesn’t have that kind of pull. Steph Curry doesn’t have that kind of pull. Travis Kelce doesn’t have that kind of pull,” she said.

Sure, that’s true, but we need to consider the timeline. National Viewership was down 55% in mid-June, as per Nielsen. And as USA Today’s Jeff Zillgitt further wrote back on June 12, “Fever national TV games are down 53% since Clark’s injury – 1,810,000 average viewers before her injury and 847,000 viewers since her injury for Fever national TV games.” However, the numbers have picked up recently.

The WNBA isn’t exactly back to the hyper-speed growth of 2024, but it’s still holding its own. Attendance is at its highest since 2002, almost 11,000 fans per game. That’s impressive, especially considering a few arenas couldn’t even fit that many if everyone brought a plus-one. TV numbers are also ticking upward. ABC reported a 13% jump in national viewership from 2024 to 2025. Yes, if more games featured Clark, we would have seen more improvement, but we cannot deny that the league is riding a steady wave of growth. Heading into the playoffs and a pivotal offseason, when the Players Association renegotiates the collective bargaining agreement, the WNBA is showing it can grow smart, not just fast.

Also, stacking the WNBA’s ratings against the NBA or NFL misses the point entirely. Those leagues operate on a scale that dwarfs women’s basketball by a wide margin. The numbers tell the story:

• The NFL’s 2024 season averaged an eye-popping 17.5 million viewers per game. Still the gold standard of American television despite a slight dip from 17.9 million the year before.
• The NBA’s 2024–25 regular season pulled 1.53 million viewers on average. A 2 percent drop from the last year’s 1.56 million.
• The WNBA’s 2024 regular season averaged 657,000 viewers per game, marking a 24-year high.

The other two leagues have an established team-based fan base, which supports them even if their star player sits out. The W is currently gaining this status, with teams like Valkyries recording record-high attendance. We are not denying the Clark effect – she’s the ace of the pack, and as we said, had she suited up, the ratings could have gone through the roof again.

However, good for her. The WNBA needs to thrive on that kind of authenticity, and it’s a reminder that the league is bigger than just one player. And after carrying so much on her shoulders, Clark needed the rest, and now, sidelined by injury, she’s embracing a new role for her team that’s going to help her in the long run.

Caitlin Clark steps into new shoes

Caitlin Clark may be sidelined, but her influence hasn’t dimmed as the Indiana Fever push toward the postseason. Cameras often catch her animated on the bench, pointing out details to teammates or voicing frustrations to officials. Head coach Stephanie White has praised her presence, saying, “Her communication was outstanding… seeing different things on the floor and being able to communicate that in a huddle.”

The sophomore guard herself admits she has leaned into that role during her recovery. On Sue Bird’s Bird’s Eye View podcast, Clark joked that she was “more so coaching the refs” than her teammates. At the same time, she explained how watching from the sidelines has opened up a fresh perspective, giving her the eyes of both a coach and a player. “I feel like I would be a really good ref, though. I wouldn’t miss a call,” she laughed.

For Indiana, that spark has been invaluable. Whether she is pulling Boston aside, fueling huddles, or simply making her presence felt, Clark continues to set the tone even out of uniform. This presence, while it won’t bring in staggering numbers, will surely bring in enough crowd to keep the WNBA afloat.