Caitlin Clark-Less WNBA Playoffs Face Nearly 50% Drop in Viewership

Caitlin Clark and her Indiana Fever recorded most of the top ten viewed WNBA regular-season and playoff games this season/

Caitlin Clark-Less WNBA Playoffs Face Nearly 50% Drop in Viewership

Caitlin Clark outdrew Angel Reese & A'ja Wilson (Image via Complex/Hoops Alert/WNBA/X)

Last season, the WNBA saw a major increase in its postseason viewership even when Caitlin Clark was not playing due to injury. So wasn’t Angel Reese, whose season ended early with the Chicago Sky as one of the worst teams in the league.

Many analysts pointed out that even though the two may have brought in a lot of fans, many still wanted to watch basketball even when the two young superstars weren’t playing.

This surge in interest is what helped franchise values soar to new heights, with certain teams closing in on the $1 billion mark. By now, many were certain that the WNBA was going to reap benefits whether its two most recognizable faces were there or not.

Some even argued that the 2025 WNBA Finals numbers proved that Caitlin Clark was not the sole reason for the league’s growth. In the 2026 regular season, most of the highest-viewed games featured the Iowa native.

Then came the playoffs, and the Indianapolis-based franchise exited the first round at the hands of the Las Vegas Aces. Those games drew more than two million viewers per game.

As per the latest viewership data, without Clark, the WNBA’s remaining four best teams could not amass nearly 50% viewers of what she drew in the first-round series against the Aces.

What cements that notion is that Angel Reese, A’ja Wilson, Sabrina Ionescu, Breanna Stewart, and the Golden State Valkyries, who sold out every home game this season, are in those games.

All those teams and players have drawn good crowds. However, it seems it is not enough compared to what the Fever superstar draws.

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Caitlin Clark’s kids’ signature shoe sells out in minutes

Those viewership numbers have proven that Caitlin Clark is the one player who draws the most viewers to the WNBA. Her impact has already been touted as the reason why the league experienced unprecedented growth over the past three years.

Caitlin Clark with her shoes
Caitlin Clark with her shoes (Image via Just Fresh Kicks/X)

Even the brands that have her as their signature athlete have experienced major growth in sales. Gatorade and Wilson have heavily benefited, forcing them to order restocks on multiple occasions.

But the most to gain was Nike. The sportswear giant has not had the best of times in terms of sales and its falling stock price. After noticing how popular the three-time All-Star‘s custom PEs were, they were banking on her first signature shoe to do well.

Nike made sure the Caitlin 1 was already their biggest shoe launch in a long time, with stock and marketing efforts ramped up to the max. That has paid dividends after reports emerged that her shoes sold out in most sizes within two hours of launch.

Clark's shoes selling out
Clark’s shoes selling out (Image via SS/Nike)

Then, when they launched the kids’ sizes earlier, they sold out even faster. All big kids’ and little kids’ sizes were sold out in minutes, proving how popular she is among children.

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Caitlin Clark’s College GameDay appearance draws record viewers

Knowing how important her first signature shoe is both to her own brand and Nike, Caitlin Clark decided to ditch the Indiana Fever’s season-ending exit interviews to head to her home state of Iowa for their college football game against the Ohio State Buckeyes.

Facing the No. 1 team in the country tends to draw packed crowds, and that is why Nike managed to get her a spot on ESPN’s College GameDay. The move came with some backlash, but fans felt it was necessary to promote her shoe.

Evidently, if any naysayers needed proof, all they had to do was check out the viewership ratings during the time Caitlin Clark was on the show. As per ESPN’s PR arm, that hour drew 3.7 million, which was 215% more than any comparable show.

It was also the network’s most-watched episode this season. All that even though Clark probably earns less overall than what ESPN pays show regulars Pat McAfee and Kirk Herbstreit.

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