(Dmytro “Henry” Aleksandrov, Headline USA) The WNBA is expected to lose tens of millions of dollars this year, even though only one player, Indiana Fever player Caitlin Clark, was responsible for 33.5% of the league’s attendance.
Clark was also snubbed from a spot on the Women’s Olympic team, the Post Millennial reported.
The WNBA and its teams are expected to lose around $50 million this year, according to two people with knowledge of the figures. During the 2018 season, on average, the WNBA has lost “over $10 million every year we’ve operated,” NBA Commissioner Adam Silver said.
In the 2023 season, the WNBA reportedly took in between $180 and $200 million, with an anonymous WNBA team executive admitting once again that the league would not be able to exist without the NBA.
“The truth is, this league would be hard-pressed to exist without the NBA,” the executive said.
The news came after Clark contributed to higher attendance of games she has played so far this season. with teams seeing an 87% increase in ticket sales when the Indiana Fevers played than the opposing team’s home stadium. The news source also reported that Clark’s presence at games also accounts for 33.5% of the WNBA’s total attendance this year so far.
Even though Clark is an extremely popular player, she was not chosen to be on the U.S. Women’s Olympic Basketball for the Paris Olympics this summer. In her rookie year with the Fevers, Clark finished her NCAA career as the Division I career scoring leader and is a major fan favorite, the news source reported.
One of the reasons why she wasn’t included was her fans, with sources saying “that concern over how Clark’s millions of fans would react to what would likely be limited playing time.”
Clark was the number one draft pick in 2024, recently making a WNBA rookie record-tying seven 3-pointers in one game and scoring 30 points total, the news source added.
